Dragon Master
by Fragments of Imagination
Summary: The people of Berk were confused about Hiccup's sudden disappearance, Stoick's change in behavior, and Astrid who suddenly quit Dragon Training. What's happened actually? Why the dragons stopped raiding Berk and what's Hiccup role in this? (Hiccup/Astrid. Don't like don't read)
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

Chapter 1

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**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

* * *

_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_ [Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

_"Dragonese"_

Letter

**Emphasis**

**_Dangerous Tone_**

* * *

**_Prologue_**

* * *

He would never thought that his live would become so complicated, but then again, he should have expected it the second he freed the dragon he managed to catch instead of killing it.

For over 300 years his people resided in the Isle of Berk, they were on war with the dragons. Most people would flee at the sight of dragons raiding their home, but not them. Why? Because they were Vikings and Vikings have . . . stubbornness issue, so instead of running away, they fought against the dragons.

He was the son of a chief of Hairy Hooligans, a tribe of Vikings, and yet he couldn't even use an axe properly. He also seemed to have a bad luck, because every invention he created to help and be acknowledged by his people always failed or backfired. Then, just when his invention work properly and he managed to shot down the Night Fury, the most feared dragon ever, he couldn't kill the dragon.

Well . . . he **wouldn't**, actually.

That night, when he came face to face with the Night Fury, he could see the fear in the dragon's eyes and it's intelligent when the dragon reacted to what he said to himself. The Dragon Manual said to never engage a Night Fury, because their only chance was to 'hide and pray it never find you', and yet what he saw that time was only a terrified creature, in which he saw himself. His decision was to free it, something that was against what Vikings do, he freed a dragon instead of slaying it.

He never regretted that decision.

He was never accepted by his people, and the first to accept him was Toothless, the exact same dragon with the one he freed. Toothless lose his left tail fin when he shot the Night Fury from the sky, the dragon couldn't get out from the cove he was trapped in, and he was the one who helped the downed dragon back to the sky.

During the time he was helping Toothless to fly again, he found many things about dragons. Berkians believed that dragons were nothing but mindless creatures, he found that dragons were very intelligent and were as alive as humans, they acted different when they didn't feel threatened. When he first become one with Toothless and flew for real for the first time, he understood that what they believed about dragons was wrong, they didn't have to kill the dragons. So, he didn't. He wouldn't kill dragons if he could help it, because dragons were the first to accept him instead of his own tribe.

He, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, was the first Viking in 300 years who wouldn't kill a dragon, even though it's a tradition for Vikings to kill a dragon to be acknowledged as one.

That's why his live become complicated now.

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To be continued . . .

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Froim : Well, that's for the Prologue. This is my first HTTYD story, I hope you like it. Please review ^ ^


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

* * *

_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_[Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

Letter

**Emphasis**

_**Dangerous Tone**_

* * *

"Clean clothes, money, dried food . . ." Hiccup mumbled as he checked the preparation for his little vacation, which would be for a very long time since he was sure he couldn't stay in Berk any longer.

Hiccup was chosen to be the one who kill the dragon in the Kill Ring the next day, and he didn't think that he could do it, so he planned on leaving Berk. Not only that, if he stayed any longer, the possibility of him befriending a dragon being exposed was high, he couldn't risk his friend's safety just because he was reluctant to leave his homeland.

"Okay, that's nearly everything, only some tools in the Forge left." He said to himself once he finished checking his stuffs, he looked out of his room's window and saw that it was late afternoon, "It's good that Dad is still in the Great Hall with Gobber, or I might unable to leave with good preparation." He said with a sigh before carrying the bag to the back of his house then head out for the forge, he took the tools needed for the prosthetic tail fin from the forge and wrapped them with a cloth before walking back to his house.

Arriving in the house, Hiccup lifted a bucket filled with fishes that he took from the dock beforehand then head out of the house once again, he went to the back of his house before hurrying to the cove where his best friend was waiting for him while carrying his bag and bucket.

"Toothless!" He called out once he arrived in the cove. A happy croon answered as a black colored dragon came out from behind a rock, his scaly friend nudged his hand with his big head in greetings. "It's nice to see you as well, buddy." He said as he put his bag down to the ground before he pushed the bucket over and spilled it's content, Toothless's head was too big to fit into the small bucket anyway. "Here you go." He said with a smile, his smile widened as he saw how happy Toothless seemed when he ate.

While waiting for Toothless to finish his food, he pulled out a map from his bag and looked over it for a place good enough for them to stay for a long time. He figured that it would be best to not get too far and not too close from Berk, in case his Father would search for him, since he would surely thought that Hiccup would go to the nearest islands or the farthest from Berk, so his best bet was to settle on an island in the middle area. He also need to chose an island that would be accessible from another village, so that he could get to the village easily when he need to be, like using the forge for example.

One island caught his attention, from the look at it, the island was uninhabited by humans and had enough forest to hide them from outsiders. The island was not as big as Berk, about half of Berk, but it was more than enough for Hiccup and Toothless to live in. Not to mention it was near a village, he could come there if he need to the forge, maybe need a bit of payment but it didn't matter for him.

One thing that he knew of that area was the fact that they didn't get raid as bad as Berk by the dragons, his chance to explaining to them that dragons weren't really dangerous was better than with Berkians. His only job before trying to tell them the true nature of dragons was to find out the reason why the dragons keep raiding their villages, without knowing their reason, his chance to show the people that the dragons weren't dangerous creatures were as good as trying to fix a roof without knowing which part that needed to be fixed.

Hiccup was pulled from his thought when he felt a nudge from his side, he looked up to see Toothless staring at him with curious eyes, his dragon warbled questioningly at him. "I was just thinking, Toothless." Hiccup answered with a smile, "Anyway . . ." He stood up and put back his map into his bag before picking it up, "Now that you finished eating, let's get out of here. The sooner we go, the lower the chance of people finding us because they are searching for me".

Toothless shot Hiccup his toothless smile and nudged him to hurry up and climb on in his excitement, earning an amused chuckle from Hiccup, "Alright." Hiccup said with a grin himself and climbed on to the saddle, Toothless sprang into the air once Hiccup finished securing himself.

They didn't notice a lone figure who arrived in the cove just in time to see them took off. Well, Toothless noticed it but he just ignored it. Hiccup also didn't notice that his Journal had fell from the bag when he pulled out his map, the book was left behind in the cove.

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A blond haired Viking with sea blue eyes could be seen marching through the woods while looking around, her eyes narrowed and she was huffing, from breathless and frustration.

Astrid Hofferson was frustrated, that much was clear, not only that she didn't get chosen to kill the dragon in the Kill Ring, but she had lost sight of Hiccup. She was planning to follow the boy to see what he was always doing in the woods, but her parents had called for her and told her that it's alright if she couldn't win, that they didn't disappointed in her or anything, and that they were proud of her for managing to get the second place, and so on.

Fortunately, she could hear a voice not too far from her location, so she followed it. She was confused however, because the voice that she heard was only that of Hiccup, without any other voice answered the boy aside from some strange noise. She wondered if the Chief's son had gone mad, too nervous about the next day maybe, and decided to talk with some random animals.

And talking to an animal he did, but Astrid never thought that the said animal would be a **dragon**, the enemy of Vikings. One thing that caught her attention was the fact that she didn't recognize the dragon from the ones who had been raiding Berk all this time, so she could only assume that the dragon was the mysterious Night Fury. The other thing that caught her attention was the saddle on the dragon's back, she saw it when Hiccup climbed onto the saddle before they took off, and the fact that the dragon would allow a human to ride on it.

Her frustration flew away, confusion and disbelief filling her head instead, and she was left gaping like a fish. She couldn't comprehend what had actually happened, she didn't know whether her eyes were playing tricks on her or Hiccup the Useless actually did fly away on a dragon's back. One thing was for certain though, the boy was leaving for a long time, if his bag was anything to go by.

"What the hell?" She asked herself once she got her voice back, she blinked and looked around to see if there's any other person who witness the same thing so she could be sure that she wasn't daydreaming or something. That was when she caught the sight of a lone book on the ground not far from a bucket.

Her curiosity won over her confusion and she went to pick it up, she raised an eyebrow when she didn't see anything on the cover, so she flipped the cover to see the first page, her eyes widened instantly. The title was written on the first page, she immediately recognize it to be Hiccup's hand writing, even after so long she didn't see the boy's hand writing, the way the boy wrote was still the same that she can recognize it without trouble. But that wasn't the reason why her eyes widened in shock, it was the title in which Hiccup's hand writing formed on the first page.

" 'How to Train Your Dragon'?" Astrid mumbled before she gasped and looked at the spot where Hiccup and the Night Fury flew off to, "No way . . . Hiccup **TRAINED A** **DRAGON**?!".

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To be continued . . .

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Froim : Please review ^ ^


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

* * *

_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_[Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

Letter

**Emphasis**

_**Dangerous Tone**_

* * *

"Search for him!" A huge man with red hair yelled to the people, "Search in the entire village and the woods, Hiccup should be around somewhere!".

The crowd immediately scattered to go and find the said boy, all the while wondering where the boy was and why he didn't come into the Kill Ring. Now, it wasn't uncommon for Hiccup to be late, he did it almost every time, but that day was the day Hiccup would kill his first dragon, so it's a surprise when they didn't see the boy get into the Kill Ring in time.

"Calm down, Stoick." A man with a prosthetic arm and leg said to him, "I'm sure Hiccup was just trying to calm his nerve, you know how nervous it be to kill a dragon for the first time in front of a crowd".

The man, Stoick the Vast, sighed heavily, "I know, Gobber." He said as he looked around to see if he could spot his son somewhere, "I just wish he would come and face his nervousness, or ask me for advise, instead of hiding like this".

Stoick had woke up that day filled with pride and excitement, his son would finally become a Viking like him, and he was ready to give his speech to his people about how proud he was of Hiccup. He had noticed that his son wasn't in home when he left for the Kill Ring, but he shrugged it off, thinking that the boy was already waiting in the arena to see the surrounding.

It's a normal thing to inspect the surrounding before a fight against a dragon, so that they could use whatever in there to their advantage, so he didn't think much about it. When everyone, save for the main reason they were in the Kill Ring, arrived in the arena, Stoick couldn't help but feeling mildly annoyed that his son would come late for an important day like that. An hour passed and no sign of his son was enough to get him worried, and so he sent the people out to search for Hiccup, in case the boy managed to get himself into another troublesome situation again.

"You can't blame him." Gobber told him with a pat on his shoulder, "Hiccup was seen as useless in the past that all he received from others were disapproving glare, it must be very nerve wrecking for him to kill a dragon in front of the whole village. Not to mention the people are expecting the best from him, you have to understand that he might be afraid that he couldn't meet the people's expectation and thus receiving the same treatment again".

Stoick sighed again and nodded, "I guess you are right." He said before walking to his house direction, "I will try to see if Hiccup is hiding in his room." He said as he walked away. Even though he said that, Stoick couldn't help but feel something in the air, a feeling that there's something was wrong and he dreaded it. He felt the same thing in the past, about 8 years ago, the day he lost he beloved wife to the dragons.

He really hoped that he wouldn't lose anyone else this time.

Stoick opened the door and marched to his son's room as fast as he could, too bad that he knock things over along the way that he was forced to slow down, or else he would break every fragile things in the house. He entered Hiccup's room and suddenly got a chill when he saw that the room was empty, everything was neatly placed and nothing was out of place. That was until he saw a folded paper lying on his son's bed. He walked to the bed and, with slightly trembling hands, he picked the paper up and unfolded it.

To Stoick the Vast,

Chief of Hairy Hooligans Tribe of Berk.

First of all, I want to apologize to you. I'm really sorry if I break your heart when you read this, but please understand that this is for the best for us. If you read this letter, then I would already be very far away from the village. Considering how fast I travel, I would already out of the island by the time you read this, so please take back any searching party that you sent for me. If you had send any, that is.

I have decided to leave the village, for I know that it would be the best decision for my current situation. Again, I apologize if you are saddened by the fact that I left you and the village, but I have my reason for this, one that would make me seen as a traitor. I can understand this, and I accepted it, so I decided to self-exile myself until the time when we can meet face to face once again. If that time comes, you can decide by yourself whether I can live in Berk once again of left for good. The reason is because I **won't** (**not** can't) kill a dragon. I know that you will frown when you read this part, so I will explain it.

Remember the night when I told you that I hit a Night Fury? You didn't believe me, oh well, everyone in the village didn't believe me then, but I must told you that I, in fact, did hit a Night Fury that day. I went to the woods to search for the Night Fury myself later that night, to kill it to prove myself to you that I can be a Dragon Slayer, so the people could finally accept me among them. Too bad for me, it's just like what you said, I'm many things but a Dragon Slayer isn't one of them.

When I found the Night Fury in the woods, being tied and couldn't move due to the bola I shot using my invention, I couldn't find it in myself to kill it. Call me stupid or anything, because I thought that I was stupid that time for doing it, but know that I never regret what I did that time. I never regret it that I decided to free the Night Fury instead of killing it.

If you are paled in fear when you read this, please remember that I'm still alive, so you can get the idea of the dragon killed me instantly out of your head. In Dragon Training, Gobber said to me that dragon always, always go for the kill. I believed so myself in the past, but I couldn't bring myself to believe it any longer, because Toothless (The name of the Night Fury that I gave him. Yeah, I named a Night Fury and call the dragon 'him' instead of an 'it', I couldn't bring myself to call Toothless an 'it' anymore) didn't kill me. Even after I clearly stomped on him in my excitement in the past, and I clearly told him that I would kill him, he spared me and let me go with just a roar (a very loud one in front of my face, my ears were ringing but at least I lived).

Now, you might scoffed at the idea of a dragon understand what we said, but I need to tell you that they really understand what we said, for Toothless had numerous times showed me that he understood what I said to him. Anyway, since I heard Gobber told me that dragons always go for the kill, I couldn't help but wondering why Toothless didn't kill me, and so I went to the woods again to search for him. I thought that he might already fly away, but he didn't.

I saw him in the . . . let's just say a secret place because it's my and Toothless's precious place that I don't want for other people to know. I saw him trying to fly but failed many times, I drew him in my book since no one except for myself ever seen a Night Fury before, and live to tell the tale, that's when I noticed the reason why he couldn't fly away. When I shot him down, his tail fin had been ripped apart from him, making him unable to fly.

Toothless noticed my presence that day, and he did nothing but stare at me before I left him. The next day, I went to the place again with a fish with me, since I saw him failed to catch fish by himself, too exhausted or still healing from the fall maybe. He was cautious of me at first, even growling when he noticed the dagger I had with me that time, but he relaxed once I kicked the dagger away from me (Crazy, I know, but I gained his trust that way), and he accepted the fish I offered to him.

This is the reason you will call me a traitor, for I befriended a dragon when I should be killing them. Again, I reminded you that I don't regret this decision. It was out of desperation at first, because it's not a secret that I didn't have a friend in the village until I showed a good progress in Dragon Training. I was lonely and desperate for some kind of affection, an acceptance for myself and not some false personality. The only one to accept me for me is Toothless, so I accept my fate as a traitor if it means I will always have him by my side.

A downed dragon is a dead dragon, I didn't want him to die because of me, and so I help him to fly again, to defy that saying. Long story short, I created a prosthetic tail fin for him and help him to fly again, and I discovered many things about dragons along the way. The progress I showed in the Dragon Training was nothing but tricks, all of them I learned in my time helping Toothless to fly again, and I tried them out in the Training with the other dragons to see if these tricks would work for the other dragons as well.

After seeing the other side of dragons, the way they acted when they weren't threatened, I couldn't bring myself to kill them. I never could in the first place, and learning about them only strengthens my resolve that I don't have to kill them. This is why I decide to leave and told you about Toothless and the fact that I befriending a dragon, I won't kill a dragon if I can help it, so I left to avoid having to kill the dragon in the Kill Ring.

Once again, I apologize for my action, and I can accept it if you decide to announce me a traitor. I stand for my words that I won't kill a dragon, that I won't let Toothless to be in danger any longer for having to stay in Berk because of me.

That was the first reason I left, the second reason is because I want to find out the reason the dragons keep raiding Berk, I want to stop this war once and for all without having to kill the dragons.

I don't know if you will listen to me or not about this, because you never listen to me anyway, just like I never listen to anyone all this time. I already told you the reason I decided to leave, so I want to suggest a few things along the way.

First, please don't hunt for the Nest anymore. I will find out the reason they raid Berk and solve it, so please stop this meaningless activity. Harsh words, I know, but it's the truth. You keep sending people to search for the Nest, and failed every time, and you will only making it worse. Please just have those people you send for the Nest to stay guard in the village, so that you can protect everyone better with more people on your side.

Last, please don't kill the dragons we have in the arena, I don't want you to regret it when (Yes, when, not if) I stop the war between Vikings and dragons. I don't know how long the time needed for me to accomplice it, but I give you my words that I will stop the war, and so there's no need for those dragons to be killed. Having those dragons become a punching bag for the Trainees is bad enough, I don't want for the dragons to be killed by them, first place or not.

Sincerely,

Hiccup.

Stoick sighed and rubbed his temple when he finished reading the long letter from his son, he felt many emotions when he read it that he got a headache.

He was saddened when he found that his son had decided to leave, even more so when he read the part about self-exile. It broke his heart when he thought about how he already lost his wife, and now he lost his only Son as well.

The next was betrayal, he couldn't believe that his son befriended a dragon, a Night Fury no less. Anger and betrayal. He was angered by the fact that his son would befriend a dragon, the creature that had taken his wife right in front of his eyes. He felt like his son had betrayed him, because they had a deal about how Hiccup would change and stop acting different from Vikings.

But when he read the explanation, he couldn't help but feel ashamed and a bit of understanding. He was ashamed that he never noticed how Hiccup really felt, he always disappointed in his son that he was failed to notice that Hiccup only wanted an acceptance. He remembered the night when he told Hiccup how relieved himself that Hiccup didn't become the worst Viking anymore, he winced as he imagine how badly his words hurt Hiccup that particular night. He could understand how desperate Hiccup would be after years of loneliness and longing for acceptance, and the fact that no one in the village ever gave him a chance only made it worse. He just didn't understand why his son would seek comfort with their enemy, the most dangerous one at that, the boy could die the second he confront the dragon.

When he read the part when Hiccup told him that he never listen to the boy, he realized that he was, indeed, never listen to what his son said to him. He felt guilty about it, if only he listened more, maybe all of this would never happen. He remembered the day he told Hiccup that he would entered the Dragon Training, Hiccup tried to tell him something, about how he couldn't kill a dragon, but he insisted that Hiccup could and would. He regretted it that he didn't listen to his son, and thus forcing the boy to enter Dragon Training and learn how to fight dragons when the boy didn't want to.

The strongest emotion he felt when he read the really long letter was confusion. He was confused about what Hiccup meant by other side of dragons, he thought that dragons were nothing but mindless creatures, but here Hiccup said that they understand what people said to them. One question began filling his head, could it be that the dragons really act different when they didn't feel threatened? If that's so then maybe, just maybe, the dragons really weren't as dangerous as what they thought.

The war with the dragons had gone for too long for their believe to be shaken so easily, but if what Hiccup believed was true, that there's a reason why the dragons keep raiding Berk, they might be able to stop the war without any more bloodshed. Considering how confident Hiccup was about this matter, something that he rarely showed, his plan might really work this time.

Stoick sighed as he glanced at the letter again, he had never listened to Hiccup, and now he regretted it. He sighed again as he closed his eyes briefly, _I will listen to you this time, son._ He thought as he reopened his eyes and head out of the house, _Don't make me regret this decision_.

He went straight to Gobber to tell the man about Hiccup's decision, his best friend was already like a second father for Hiccup, and he deserved to know the truth. The same thing couldn't be said about the rest of the village though, so he need to think first before he act this time, or he might raise suspicion.

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Astrid couldn't help but thought that Stoick hid something from everyone, aside from Gobber since the two were very close with each other, his sudden change in mind about finding the Nest and the change in Dragon Training's graduation ceremony said it all.

Something that frustrated her was the fact that only her noticed that Stoick hiding something, the rest of the Tribe didn't even think that something was up with the Chief. It's not a secret that Stoick was obsessed in finding the Nest, to suddenly say that he lost interest was absurd, something clearly change the Chief's mind about it. Stoick also said that he didn't want for the Trainees to get stressed having to kill a dragon in the Kill Ring, under the expectation of the people, but it's a common knowledge that the Trainees were excited about it, aside from Hiccup of course. Yet none of the others found it to be strange.

Speaking of Hiccup though, Astrid was reminded about the book she found in the cove, the book that was currently in her hands. She didn't tell Stoick about how she saw Hiccup flew away on a dragon's back, something in her mind telling her that it would be best to keep her knowledge about how Hiccup left a secret, and she guessed that Stoick already knew that Hiccup had ran away. She had seen the man looking longingly at a paper when no one was watching, maybe Hiccup wrote something to him before he left with the dragon. She was also curious about the content of the book, after witnessing Hiccup flew away on the back of a dragon make her thought that maybe she could do the same, it would be a great if they could get the dragons to fight alongside them instead of against them.

"Let's see what he wrote in here." Astrid said to herself as she flipped the cover and the first page over to enter the first chapter.

How to Train Your Dragon

Chapter 1

Everything is based on Trust.

Before you can train a dragon, the first thing you should do is gain their trust. A relationship between a dragon and a person is based on trust, mutual trust, mind you. The stronger the trust you have for each other, the stronger your bond will be.

A dragon normally wouldn't attack unless they feel threatened, so the first step to gain a dragon's trust is to show them that you won't harm them. Approach a dragon without carrying a weapon, it the easier way to show them that you won't attack them, they would feel less threatened if you don't carry a weapon around them before you gain their trust.

After you showed them that you don't have any weapon, you need to show them that you trust them. You need to get the dragon to calm down first before trying to show them that you trust them, try talking softly to them. Dragons are intelligent creatures, they understand what you are saying to them, that's why you can calm them down with words and soft tone. Dragons can also feel your emotion, so it would be useless to calm a dragon if you feel agitated yourself. Then, once you get the dragon to calm, show them that you trust them. The easier way to show them that you trust them is to look at the ground and raise your hand to the front of their shout, it's a gesture that telling them that you trust them to not bite your hand off. You need to be calm and confident when approaching a dragon (confident, not arrogance), since the dragon wouldn't believe that you trust them if they feel fear from you. Once the dragon understands that you won't harm them and trust them, they will show you that they trust you not to harm them by touching your hand with their snout.

Note : You need two people to approach a Hideous Zippleback, since two heads mean two riders.

Astrid raised an eyebrow when she finished reading, she would never thought that the content would be like that, she thought that training a dragon was to dominate them. "Trust, huh?" She mumbled as she closed the book, she need to head home before her parents get home, they liked to ask questions if she come home late.

She stood up and began walking to her home, her mind wandering about how Hiccup wrote that dragons understand what humans said to them. If that was true, then they weren't mindless creatures like what they believed. If Hiccup was right, she couldn't help but wondering how much of their knowledge about dragons that was wrong?

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"What do you think about this spot, Toothless?" Hiccup asked his dragon companion as he looked around the clearing they found in the forest.

They had arrived in the island at night and went right to sleep due to exhaustion, with Hiccup being covered by one of the dragon's wings. After they woke up, Hiccup fished their breakfast before they began exploring the island where they would live on. They had found a small lake and saw some boars, meaning they wouldn't need to worry about clean water and he can hunt the boars for their pelt to be traded, then they found a big clearing, a good place for them to sleep.

Toothless looked around before giving him his toothless smile, "We only need to find a stone slab for you to sleep on, and built something like a roof for when it's rain." Hiccup said with a smile as well. He had once slept in the cove with Toothless in the past, and he found it quite comfy. So he thought that it wouldn't matter if he didn't have a house, he can sleep anywhere as long as he had his dragon with him, and certainly Toothless didn't mind it one bit that he sleep leaning on him and covered by his wing.

"Oh, right." Hiccup said to himself as he remembered about his self appointed mission, he looked at Toothless and found the dragon looking at him curiously, "Toothless, I was wondering about why the dragon raids Berk." He explained as he sat across his dragon, "Is there a reason behind all those raids?" Toothless nodded at him, "Do you think you can tell me what it is?".

Toothless's eyes widened a bit in surprise before he motioned to his saddle, "You will show me?" Hiccup guessed, the dragon nodded in answer, "Alright." He stood up and climbed onto the saddle and secured himself before patting Toothless at the side of his neck, "I'm ready." He announced.

Toothless shot up to the sky and Hiccup adjusted the prosthetic tail fin according to the dragon's lead, their flight was a quiet one since Hiccup can felt how tense his dragon was, and he could only guess that the reason behind the dragon raids was a serious one.

It wasn't long before Hiccup noticed that they were heading for the Helheim's Gate, the thick fog was the clear give away about their location, and Hiccup noticed that there were so many dragons around them. He gulped and lay down on Toothless's back, he could do nothing but trust his friend to know what he was doing.

Hiccup gasped when he saw an island with a volcano ahead of them, all of the dragons seemed to be heading for the volcano carrying their kill. Toothless silently following the rest and immediately hid in a cave where they can see what's going on but couldn't be seen by the others, Hiccup watched as one by one the dragons dropped their kill into a big hole, he frowned in confusion. "What's going on?" He whispered as he watched what was happening.

Toothless growled softly while moving his head to a Gronckle, as if telling him to stay quiet and watch, the Gronckle had just dropping a small fish into the hole. Hiccup's eyes widened when he heard a loud growl, he noticed that the other dragons in there were cowering in fear. He saw the reason not a second later as a huge, really huge, dragon head emerged from the hole and swallowed the Gronckle in one go.

"What in Odin's name is that?" Hiccup hissed in fear, and he was panicked when the huge dragon sniffed the air before looking at their direction, "Alright, bud, we need to get out." He said urgently.

Toothless didn't need to be told twice, he flew as fast as he could away from the volcano, barely missing the huge thing's jaw snapping on them, with the other dragons also flying away to cover for them.

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To be continued . . .

XXXXX

Froim : Please review ^ ^


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

* * *

_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_[Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

Letter

**Emphasis**

_**Dangerous Tone**_

* * *

The second they arrived back at the clearing, Hiccup slid off Toothless's back and lied on the ground, he need to calm his nerves. Toothless crooned softly to him and curled around him, nudging Hiccup's shoulder with his snout. "I'm alright, buddy." Hiccup said after he calmed down, "Just need time to calm down, don't worry." He explained before sitting up to look at his dragon, "That thing, was that your Queen?" He asked seriously.

Toothless growled in anger and shook his head.

Hiccup gulped, "Alright, let me guess what happened." He started, "From what I saw, I guess that thing - let's just call it Red Death for now – invaded your home and forced you to raid Berk? And that thing will eat the dragons if they didn't feed it?".

Toothless nodded and laid his head on the ground with a sad rumble, Hiccup scratched the dragon's head as he thought about the situation at hand. "If I want to stop the war between Vikings and dragons, the best way to start is to kill the Red Death, then show the Vikings that they don't have to kill the dragons." He said thoughtfully before looking at the sky, "Oh man, it's not as easy as I thought . . ." He then looked at Toothless and smiled, "But I know that I can do it with you by my side, buddy".

Toothless nudged his chest and let out a contented rumble, showing Hiccup that he was thinking the same.

XXXXX

Astrid was walking through the woods to read Hiccup's book again when she heard it, a pained whimper of an injured animal. She stopped walking and looked around before she saw it, not far from her was a bluish green Terrible Terror, and one of the tiny dragon's wings was bending in a strange angle.

The Terror saw her and whimpered again, but this time it sounded like the dragon was scared, not to mention that the tiny dragon was staring at her with fear filled eyes. It was then that Astrid know that dragons wasn't brainless creatures, the Terror clearly understood that she was a Viking, and Vikings normally kill dragons. It's clear that dragons can feel emotion too, not heartless like what they believed.

_Hiccup is right about dragons being intelligent creatures . . ._ Astrid thought in realization, _Well, let's see if the dragons really won't attack unless feel threatened_. She took a step forward and the dragon whimpered again, she then remembered that Hiccup wrote about gaining the dragon's trust. _Okay, let's try it_. She thought decisively.

Astrid carefully laid her double-edged axe on the ground and raised her hands to the creature, "Calm down." She said in the most soothing voice she could make, it's a bit hard considering that she was raised to be a fierce warrior, "I don't have a weapon, see?" She asked as she slowly walking to the creature, and she was surprised that the dragon didn't whimper again, and the fear was replaced by caution.

She walked slowly to the dragon until she arrived in front of the branch where the dragon stood at, "It's okay." She said again, "I won't hurt you." She promised and raised her hand, the dragon moved it's head back a bit as if avoiding her hand. _'Look at the ground and raise your hand', right_. She thought before looking down at the ground and slowly raising her hand to where she thought the dragon's snout would be, she closed her eyes as she wait.

Half a minute passed and Astrid was wondering if what Hiccup wrote about dragons were wrong after all, but then she felt it, something scaly and warm touched her palm. She looked up in surprise to see the tiny dragon touched it's snout on her palm with it's eyes closed, she couldn't help but smile. "That's right." She said softly, "I won't hurt you." She then raised her other hand, "Come here." She coaxed softly, "Let me look at your wound, maybe I can help you".

The tiny dragon opened it's eyes and looked at her for a few seconds before leaning to her hands, Astrid picked it up as gentle as she could then sat on the ground after making sure no one was around. She inspected the wound on the dragon's right wing and found that it's bone was broken, "Hmm." She hummed as she looked around, "Well, little dragon, I can help you with your wing, but I can't do it in here and right now." She said before looking at the dragon, "How about this, I will bring you to a place where you can rest first, I need to go home and get something for your wing then come back to you to treat your broken wing." She told the dragon and waited for some kind of response, she got her answer when the dragon nodded it's head, surprising her since she didn't know that a dragon could nod.

"Alright." She said and stood up, being careful about the dragon in her hands. She walked to her axe and picked it up before heading for the cove where she saw Hiccup with the Night Fury before, she felt like she was intruding Hiccup's privacy by entering the cove, but she thought that the cove would be the perfect place to hide the injured dragon. She looked around for a good place for the dragon before an idea entered her head, she picked up the bucket that was laying there, possibly the one Hiccup used to feed his dragon, and went to behind the rock. "Wait here a moment." She said as she gently placed the dragon on some place away from the rocks, she went back to the rocks.

Astrid arranged the bucket and the rocks until they formed a small cave with the bucket as the roof, she smirked as she satisfied with her work before she went to the tiny dragon who crooned curiously at her. "I made something for you." She said as she picked the dragon again and brought it to the small cave, "If you stay here, no one aside from me can find you." She explained slowly to make sure the tiny creature would understand perfectly, "I don't know how long it would take for your wing to heal, but this way, you can have a safe place to stay".

She lowered the dragon to the ground and watched as the dragon looked at the small cave before curling up on the ground, the dragon then looked at her from it's spot, as if saying that it would wait there. Astrid smiled in wonder, the dragon was more intelligent then she had first thought, "Alright." She said as she stood up, "Wait here. I will try to get back as soon as I can".

The dragon squawked at her in answer.

Astrid nodded before running out of the cove, she ran out of the forest as fast as she could before slowing down and walking casually to her home. _Huh?_ She blinked when a random thought entered her mind as she entered her room, _I guess this must be how Hiccup felt when he befriended his dragon_. She mused silently to herself as she finally registered what kind of feeling that she was feeling the whole time she was interacted with the Terrible Terror.

She felt excited and anxious. The knowledge that only her in the whole village - not including Hiccup of course, since he already left - who could get close with a dragon without getting attacked made her excited. She also knew what most people didn't know, again aside from Hiccup, making her felt even more excited. Although, the knowledge that she befriended a dragon make her anxious, if the people knew, they would surely brand her as a traitor.

She bet that Hiccup felt like this too before he ran away, possibly to protect his dragon and avoiding having to kill a dragon. If in the past she would mock Hiccup for that, she now could understand. Even after only a few minutes interacting with her tiny dragon, she had lost her desire to kill a dragon. It's impossible to think about killing a dragon after knowing that they can be a gentle creature with the right handling, just like what she saw in her tiny dragon.

Right, the Terrible Terror would be her dragon, just like how the Night Fury was Hiccup's dragon. She would make sure no one touch her dragon, she would protect her dragon friend. Even so, she couldn't help but wondering if she could befriend a dragon that could help her fly, just like how the Night Fury help Hiccup fly by letting Hiccup onto it's back on a saddle. _Alright then_, she decided to herself, _I will try to get close with one of the dragons in the arena, maybe with the Nadder since it's more beautiful than other type of dragons in the arena_.

Astrid quickly went to retrieve a roll of bandage, she then remember that she need to get food for the Terrible Terror, but she didn't know what a dragon like to eat. That's when she remembered Hiccup's book, the manual of how to train a dragon, she opened the book and going right to the chapter for dragon's food, fortunately it's right in chapter two.

Chapter 2

A happy dragon is the best.

You already gained your dragon's trust and could touch them, it would be best not to upset them after all that. If you want to feed your dragon, they like fish, so you can give them fish. If your dragon is big, they need more fish than the smaller dragon. Another food like is boars and so on is also good, but they prefer fish more, even more so if the fish are a fresh catch.

DON'T give them EELS! If you give your dragon an eel, they will back away from it and – or roaring to you until the eel got very far away from them. Better safe than sorry, so don't give them eels.

Dragons like to get scratched. You want for your dragon to be happy, just give them a nice scratch. You need to be careful though, some spots would be their favorite spot for you to scratch them, but one particular spot below their chin might be too good for them that they get knocked out. If you want to find this particular spot, better not do it when your dragon is above you, you will get pinned underneath them then.

A happy dragon is easier to be trained than an upset one, and certainly they would listen to you more if you keep them happy. So in order to not make your dragon upset, don't give them eels and DON'T treat them like a mere PET.

Dragons are prideful creature, to treat them like pets would be an insult for them. Dragons are your COMPANIONS, your PARTNERS, your FRIENDS, so treat them like one and they would be happy with you around them.

Note : Terrible Terrors love attention. Pay attention to them and they would be happy, but too much attention and excitement would make your hands full with a hyper tiny dragon.

_Terrible Terrors love attention? That's new_. Astrid thought as she closed the book and head out for the kitchen, she took a few fishes her family had and put them into a small bag, it wouldn't do to have people wondering what she was doing with raw fishes in the woods. _I wonder what he means about this particular spot._ She asked herself before a memory of one event in the Dragon Training was brought to the surface.

_Astrid was getting ready to hit a Deadly Nadder with the side of her axe when a hand scratched below the chin of the Nadder, the Nadder fell to the ground and Hiccup come to her view. Hiccup shot her with a sheepish yet nervous smile while shrugging._

Astrid blinked at the memory, _I guess, it's what Hiccup mean in his book by feeling too good until getting knocked out_. She mused as she walked to the woods, _Now that I think about it, Hiccup never tried to hurt the dragons in the arena, he only got them into their cages without having to hurt them_.

Astrid was already deep in the woods when she remembered something important, she need some board to help the little dragon with it's broken wing. She looked around and saw a fallen tree nearby, but then she was surprised when she saw that this part of the woods was damaged, and a few black scales caught her attention.

_[Okay, but I hit a Night Fury]_

That was what Hiccup said the night before he joined Dragon Training. _If what Hiccup said was true that night, then the black scales lying around nearby would be that of the Night Fury's_. Astrid thought as she looked at the scales, _He also mentioned Raven's point, and this area is Raven's point_, she looked around at the many of .broken or fallen trees. _Wow, Hiccup really did hit a Night Fury that night_.

She shook her head to clear her mind and focus on the matter at hand, she went to one of the fallen trees and broke them apart with her axe, she then work on them until she got two boards with the same size and thickness. _These will do_, she decided before began running to the cove, she went into the cove and ran to the rock right away, she slowed to a walk when she near the rock before stopping in front of her hand made cave. "Hello, little guy." She greeted her dragon, but was surprised when the dragon squawked indignantly at her, she blinked, "Um, are you a girl then?" She asked, the dragon nodded in answer.

"Alright then, little girl." She said as she pulled out the bag with fishes and put it on the ground, "I brought you some fish, but you can only eat them after I finish fixing your wing." She told the dragon, who whined in protest, "Think about it as a reward for hard work, because in order for me to help your wing to heal, I need to get it into the right position, and it would hurt when I move your wing. If you can wait patiently and endure the pain when I work on your broken wing, you can have the fish as your reward, and I will get you more fish tomorrow." She bargained, "How about it?".

Her dragon let out a breath that was similar to a sigh, making her smile in amusement, who knew that a dragon could sigh? Okay, Hiccup might know about it since he seemed to know more about dragons than the rest of Berk, judging by what he wrote in his book.

Astrid smiled at her dragon before began working, she get the broken wing into it's right position and pinned it with the two boards before securing them by wrapping them with bandages, all the while ignoring the whimpers and whines from her little dragon. "There, it would be best not to move your broken wing too much, it will heal faster that way." She said happily, satisfied with her work.

Her dragon looked at her wing before shot Astrid with pleading look, Astrid chuckled, "Alright." She said as she let the fish out of the bag in front of her dragon, "They are for you, I will bring a more fresher fish tomorrow." She promised, "Now, you need a name . . ." She looked thoughtfully at the Terror who was looking at her with curiosity. She smiled, "Rivera." She said softly, "Your name is Rivera, your scale's color shining like the flow of a river, the 'a' in the end to make it sound more feminine".

Rivera crooned happily at her in response, happy to have her own name.

Astrid chuckled, "You are so cute, Rivera." She said happily as she gently scratched the dragon's head, earning a content purr in response.

Astrid was grateful that she never killed a dragon before, or she might really regret it heavily now.

XXXXX

"Stoick, are you in there?" Gobber asked as he knocked the door to the Chief's home.

The door opened not long after to reveal a depressed Stoick, "Come in, Gobber." He said as he opened the door more to let his friend in.

"Ah, no, I'm not coming in, not now." Gobber answered with a grin, "Come with me, my friend, I'm sure you will feel better after this".

Stoick shot Gobber a look that saying 'I don't think so', "The only thing that could make me feel better is if my son came home." He answered gloomily, but coming out of the house nonetheless, he walked side by side with Gobber to wherever Gobber wanted him to go.

"Ah, but I do think that you will feel better." Gobber insisted as he led the way to the forge, "I had just found out something interesting in Hiccup's workspace." He explained as he opened the door to the room where Hiccup would work on his personal projects, "Look at them." He said as he gestured one of the wall with his hand.

Stoick looked at the wall and his eyes widened when he saw the drawing of a beautiful woman with brown hair and hazel eyes, "Valka . . ." He murmured as he gazed at the drawing that captured the brightest smile of his wife in perfection.

"Ah, yes, there's many drawing of her and your family as a whole." Gobber said with a soft smile, "But that's not why I showed you this room, look at the ones in the right side of the wall." He instructed patiently.

Stoick dragged his eyes away from the drawing of his wife, reluctantly of course, to the direction mentioned by his friend, his eyes widened even more when he saw many drawings of a black colored dragon. On one of them, it showed the dragon looking up at him with curiosity in it's eyes, it's left tail fin wasn't there. "This dragon is . . . ." He trailed off as he lost of words.

"The Night Fury." Gobber answered him, "The one your son called as Toothless in his letter, considering this one has one of it's tail fins ripped apart".

Stoick looked at the drawing in awe, he didn't know that his son had such a talent with his hands, "So this dragon is Night Fury . . ." He breathed in awe, he then looked at the one showing the playful side of the dragon, "For the most feared by Vikings, it doesn't look that fearsome." He commented, "In this one, the dragon even looks like it is smiling".

"I agree, I didn't know that a dragon can smile like that." Gobber said with a chuckle, "From the look of it, the Night Fury also smaller than a Monstrous Nightmare, just look at the one with Hiccup sitting beside the dragon".

Stoick searched for the one Gobber told him and raised an eyebrow, "It's even smaller than a Nadder!" He exclaimed in shock, "Is this the dragon that got all Vikings to get down whenever it's screech being heard? How small . . .".

"Small but vicious when it want to be." Gobber agreed, "Kind of like your son, eh?".

Stoick frowned, "I don't think Hiccup can be vicious." He said in confusion.

"Oh, you certainly didn't know about Hiccup's reaction whenever he heard Valka's name being mocked by the kids in the past." Gobber said with a chuckle, "Even though he was small, he managed to get some hit into count, all of those kids were having black eyes after the fight".

"He really hit them?" Stoick asked in surprise.

"Yes." Gobber nodded in confirmation, "I believe that it happened when you went out to search for the Nest. I think that with enough training and the right method of teaching, Hiccup can be a fierce fighter that can rival Astrid".

"He would make a good Chief." Stoick said sadly, "But he went and self-exiled himself".

" '. . . so I decided to self-exile myself until the time when we can meet face to face once again. If that time comes, you can decide by yourself whether I can live in Berk once again or leave for good.' " Gobber quoted, gaining the Chief's attention to him, "By telling you that, he places his hope in you." He said softly as he look at his friend, "He's hoping that once he stopped the war between Vikings and dragons, he will come back here and meet you again. He hopes to have a talk with you, so you can decide whether he can live in Berk with his dragon or not".

Stoick's face fell, "But the others wouldn't let him stay here, they will call him traitor and banish him from the village." He said gloomily.

"You forget the part of 'once he stopped the war'." Gobber reminded him, "If the war had stopped, there's no reason for the people to not let him stay if his dragon wouldn't harm them." He explained before grinning wildly, "Some of the people might ask his help to get themselves a dragon pet as well, I know that I will ask him that".

Stoick's eyebrows shot up as his eyes widened in surprise, "You will?" He asked in disbelief.

Gobber nodded, "Yes." He said confidently, "I mean, wouldn't it be a great thing if we can fly on dragon's back? And the dragons can aid us in times of war as well, fighting alongside us instead of against us".

Stoick ran his hand along his beard as he thought about that possibility, "If you put it that way . . ." He nodded his head in agreement, "Yes, having dragons on our side would be a great help." He looked at Gobber with a small smile, "I bet that if the war did stop, and Hiccup showed up on a dragon's back, those teenagers would want for him to get them a dragon for themselves as well".

Gobber's wild grin grew bigger if that's possible, "You might want a dragon yourself, Stoick." He said with a chuckle, "Wouldn't want to lose to the kids, would you?".

Stoick chuckled, "Let's just see when the time comes." He said as he looked at the drawings of the Night Fury once again, "If the most feared Night Fury can be playful when it isn't threatened, the rest of the dragons might be not as dangerous as we think they are".

"That's the spirit!" Gobber said cheerfully, "Now, rather than doing nothing, why don't we try and find out where Hiccup ran off to?" He suggested, "We might be able to help him with stopping this war and get him return to us sooner!".

Stoick's face brightened, "That's a good idea, Gobber!" He said in high spirit, "Let's talk in my house, we can discuss where to search for him first!".

"Yeah, let's!" Gobber said in the same high spirit before they went to Stoick's house together.

Stoick vowed that he would do his best to find his son again, and help him in stopping the war instead of stubbornly searching for the Nest, as Hiccup put it.

XXXXX

To be continued . . .

XXXXX

Froim : Please review ^ ^


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

* * *

**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

* * *

_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_[Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

Letter

**Emphasis**

_**Dangerous Tone**_

* * *

Astrid was reading Hiccup's book in the cove while running her left hand on Rivera's back, she woke up early that day to spend time with her Terrible Terror and reading the book. Her curiosity gotten the better of her, she want to know what else that Hiccup knew about dragons that was the opposite to what was written on the Dragon Manual they had for Dragon Training. So far, she had read the part about how dragons could get distracted by a beam of light, she found out about Dragon Nip, and now she was reading the part about flying lesson.

When you fly with your dragon, it would be best to let your dragon take the lead. Don't try to force any maneuver until you are used with your dragon's movement and their way of flying, you need to trust them to handle the flying until you can connect better with them and your bond with them grow stronger. That's all I can tell you though, you can only understand it when you experience flying with your dragon by yourself. 'Learning on the job' is the best way to learn to fly with your dragon.

Note : It would be best flying with a saddle on, or else you would get easily thrown off from your dragon's back.

She sighed as she closed the book, she didn't find anything else after that chapter. Maybe Hiccup didn't get the chance to finish the book or something. "I really want to experience flying on a dragon's back." She said to no one as she looked up at the sky, "I wonder how the clouds feel like".

She felt a movement under her hand, reminding her of her tiny dragon, she looked down to see Rivera had just woken up from her nap. "How was your nap?" She asked her dragon with a smile on her face.

Rivera let out a happy purr and nuzzled her snout into Astrid's chest, letting the Viking girl know that her nap was a nice one.

"Well, Rivera." Astrid said as she stood up and brushed her skirt, "I need to go now, before I'm late for Dragon Training." She explained, "Now, I already told you that we need to fight dragons in here, but I promise that I will try to not harm the dragons." She smiled at her dragon, "I think I will quit Dragon Training once today's training is over though, I don't want to kill dragons anymore." Rivera warbled happily at her, "And yes, we can spend more time together once I quit training." That statement earning her a long happy chatter from her dragon, she didn't have to understand what her dragon was trying to tell her to know that the tiny dragon was excited and happy about her decision.

"Alright." She scratched her dragon's head for a bit, "I will see you later, my little dragon".

Astrid left the cove and ran to the arena's direction, aside from she want to get to the arena sooner, running in the woods could be used as a training to make her reflex sharper and to increase her agility.

"Ah, nice to have you join us, Astrid." Gobber greeted her once she arrived.

Astrid nodded in greetings at the man, "Yes." She said simply before looking around for the other kids.

"You are the first to arrive." Gobber told her before she could ask.

"I see." She answered before looking at her mentor, "Gobber, can we talk after today's lesson ended?".

Gobber looked at her in confusion, "Sure." He answered simply.

The other kids arrived not long after, then after Snotlout tried to flirt with Astrid and was answered with a punch in the face, the training started with the same order as the previous one with the one when Hiccup was still in the Training with them. Astrid did her best to avoid the blast from the Gronckle, trying to exhaust the dragon's limit shot before trying anything else. She didn't have to try as hard as she thought, however, since the dragon used 4 of it's shot limit by getting Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout and Fishlegs out of the arena before it focused on her.

Astrid managed to evade the last two shot before showing the dragon the eel she hid behind her vest, she smirked when she saw how scared the Gronckle after noticing the eel. "Get back to your cage or I will throw this eel at you." She said as she advanced to the dragon. Needless to say, the dragon flew as fast as it could back to it's cage, much to the shock of the others.

"Astrid, that's so cool!" Snotlout exclaimed to her, no doubt he was trying to win the blonde Viking over again, "How do you know that the dragon hates eels?".

"Yeah, tell us!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut exclaimed in excitement.

Astrid smirked at them, "Well, it's just something that I learnt from Hiccup, really." She told them casually, "I noticed that he hid an eel when he forced the Zippleback back into it's cage in the past, so I decided to try it".

"Well, it seems that dragons hate eels." Gobber said in thought, "Do you think they would still try to steal the sheep if we placed eels near the sheep?" He asked out loud without really looking at them.

"We could try!" Ruffnut exclaimed excitedly.

"If it's a success, we don't have to worry about losing sheep anymore!" Tuffnut joined her, it's rare that the twins would agree with each other outside of causing destruction.

"But if it fails, the dragons would likely shoot the eels." Astrid warned them.

"I will tell the farmer about it then, but with a plan to fight the fire soon in case the dragons really would burn the eels." Gobber said in decision, "Now, the training is over, go back home and train by yourselves." He told the Trainees. The kids, aside from Astrid, went out of the arena while chatting to themselves. "So, what is it you want to talk to me about?" He asked the girl.

"Two things, actually." Astrid said with a sigh, "I want to quit Dragon Training." She started, waiting for the man's reaction to her statement.

"Why?" Gobber asked in confusion, "I mean, you are the best Trainee after Hiccup".

She actually didn't have a reason about why she want to quit, but hearing Gobber mentioned that Hiccup once bested her gave her an idea. "Well, it's because Hiccup isn't here." She started softly, "I don't feel motivated enough to continue Dragon Training without Hiccup, I mean, I always thought of him as my rival. With him disappear like this, I don't know, but I lose my interest in fighting".

Gobber looked at her in sympathy, "Well, I think you need to talk with your Mother first." He advised, "If she agree to let you quit, then you are free to quit".

"Thank you, Gobber." Astrid answered with a smile.

"Now, what is the second reason?" Gobber asked to the point.

"Well, do you think you can take me as your apprentice?" Astrid asked curiously. Hiccup mentioned a saddle for the dragons, so she might be able to learn how to make one by herself if she learned from Gobber. "I know that it's hard for you after Hiccup disappear, I want to help out while learning how to make a weapon myself." She explained with the best reason she had.

Gobber raised an eyebrow but grinned at her, "You are welcome to learn from me." He said cheerfully, "But I warn you, becoming a blacksmith isn't an easy task!".

Astrid smirk, "I won't turn down such a challenge." She said confidently, "Well then, I will go home and talk with my Mother now. See you!" She nodded at the man before running out of the arena.

XXXXX

"What? Astrid?" Stoick asked as he walked into the dining room with two plates for their dinner, "She wants to quit?".

"Yes, I said that." Gobber answered as he took one of the plates and sat down to eat, "Not only that, she threatened to throw an eel at the Gronckle if the dragon wouldn't go back to it's cage, and the Gronckle flew back to it's cage as soon as she said that. The kids were amazed that she knew that dragons hate eels, but Astrid said that she learned that from Hiccup, from watching him in the past".

"I think Hiccup found out about the eel problem when he was helping his dragon." Stoick said thoughtfully, "I wonder what other things he found out about dragons?".

"I don't know." Gobber answered before grinning, "But we can use this information for our advantage, I already told the farmers to put eels near the sheep in the next raid." Stoick raised an eyebrow at that, "If dragons hate eels, until they run away from the sight of eels, they wouldn't dare to go near the sheep if there are eels nearby, don't you think?".

"I guess." Stoick said in agreement, "So, where should we send the search party?" He asked before taking a bite of his grilled fish.

"Hiccup is a smart boy." Gobber started thoughtfully, "He wouldn't go to the nearby islands, I would suggest to search from the furthest islands, but then Hiccup might already guess we would do it . . ." He bit down his fish, "It would be best if we search from the middle range, start with the islands without any villages in there that aren't too far nor too close to Berk".

XXXXX

When the night came, Astrid sneaked out of the house as quietly as she could, with a small bucket filled with fishes in one hand and some of the Dragon Nip in her other hand, in case the dragon she wanted to bond with was in bad mood.

Sneaking into the arena was an easy task in her opinion, because there wasn't a single Viking guarding the arena, why would they guard an arena filled with dragons anyway? No one was ever trying to do what Astrid was about to do, so it's easy for her to sneak in. The only thing that she needed to be careful about was the two people on patrol duty, one on the watch tower and the other walking around the village. It's easy to go undetected by the one in the watch tower, and if she paid attention to her surrounding, the one walking around the village wasn't a problem either, she just need to make sure she didn't make a loud noise that would draw their attention to her.

Astrid finally arrived in the training arena, she put her bucket on the ground beside the cage with the Deadly Nadder inside. "I hope this works." She whispered to herself before lowering the lever to open the cage.

The Nadder burst out and went straight to the arena, it looked around before relaxing when it didn't see anyone else. Astrid cough softly to get her presence known, from what Hiccup wrote in his book, it would be best to not startle a dragon she wanted to approach. The Nadder swirled around and saw her, "Hey girl." She said as she raised her hands, she was relieved when the Nadder didn't make a loud noise, that's mean she got the gender right, "Calm down, I don't have a weapon with me".

The Nadder looked at her for a moment before relaxing slightly and looked at her in confusion, she smiled at the dragon, "I'm guessing you recognize me?" Astrid asked softly, trying not to scare the dragon, the dragon nodded at her, "Well, I want to apologize, I was wrong when I try to attack you all this time." She lifted the bucket and walked over to the dragon, who eyed her in caution. She took one of the fishes and lifted it up to the dragon, "For you, why don't we start over with this fish?" She asked hopefully.

The Nadder sniffed her a bit before accepting the fish, Astrid grinned happily at that. She closed her eyes and lifted one hand towards the dragon's head, being careful to avoid it's blind spot, and waited. A few second passed before she felt a gentle nudge on her palm, she opened her eyes to see the Nadder closed her eyes while touching her snout onto Astrid's palm. "Thank you." She said warmly and began scratching the dragon's head for a bit, earning a happy purr from the dragon.

Astrid then tipped the bucket to let the fishes out for the Nadder, "I think I will call you Stormfly." She said cheerfully as she watched the dragon ate happily, the dragon looked up at her and squawked happily, "I guess that you like your new name?" Stormfly squawked again, Astrid smiled, "A beautiful name for a beautiful dragon like you".

Stormfly purred and nuzzled her cheek with her snout, "Well, Stormfly." Astrid began, "After you finish eating, you need to go back to your cage." Stormfly whined at her, "I know you don't like it, but there's nothing I can do for now." She explained softly, "I already quit Dragon Training, so I won't be one of the Trainees you will be facing tomorrow. Even so, I can't get you out from here without attracting suspicion to myself." She smiled and pat the dragon's head gently, "But don't worry, I will try to find a way to show the people that dragons aren't dangerous, that we can live in peace with each other, so you won't have to be caged anymore. Please be patient for now, alright?".

Stormfly looked straight at her eyes before nodding and nudging her cheek again, Astrid sighed in contentment, "Alright, girl." She said fondly, "Finish your food, I need to get back home before my Mother notices my absence".

Stormfly squawked and finished the rest of the fishes, Astrid led the dragon back to the cage, "I promise I will get you out of this cage one day." She promised once the dragon entered the cage, "See you tomorrow, Stormfly." The Nadder crooned softly, Astrid smiled and closed the cage.

As Astrid walked back to her home, she couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she didn't come to the cove that day, the day when she saw Hiccup left on a dragon's back and found the book of how to train a dragon. Her live had changed so much in just a short time after that day, and she was glad of the change, because she now knows just how wrong their belief was about the dragons.

XXXXX

"Whoooooo!"

Laughter and roar of excitement rang in the air as Hiccup and Toothless free falling together. Free fall was their favorite activity, aside from how exciting it was, Hiccup always feel refreshed after they free falling like that.

The ocean came into view, Hiccup reached a hand and brought himself to the saddle, Toothless opened his wings and they flew above the sea in high speed, causing the water to part ways before they flew up to the clouds once again.

Once they touch the clouds, 5 other dragons joined them. A Boneknapper, a Changewing, a Deadly Nadder, a Monstrous Nightmare, and a Terrible Terror. Hiccup grinned at them, "Hey guys." He called to the other dragons, "I think it's time we go home." The other dragons roared in agreement and they all changed direction to Hiccup's Island, which he called as Dracoland.

Two months had passed since he ran away from Berk and discovered the reason why the dragons were raiding Berk and other villages, he had been freeing the dragons from the Queen's influence and gathering allies since then. It's not an easy task to do considering how strong the Queen's control over the dragons was, but with a dragon that was extremely skilled in stealth and his unique talent in getting into a dragon's good side, he managed.

The first time he tried to break the Queen's influence was when the dragons were on their way to raid the Bog-Burglars. He and Toothless had pulled aside a dark red colored Monstrous Nightmare from the group of dragons into the forest, and in that forest Hiccup dismounted his dragon and approaching the Nightmare with bare hands while reassuring the Nightmare that he meant no harm. The Nightmare warmed up to him soon after he used the Dragon Nip at the dragon and gave her a nice scratch, he had named the Nightmare 'Flarestorm' since the female dragon had a strange liking to fly in the storms and could be very temperamental like a fire sometimes.

Not two days after he brought Flarestorm with him, the night when he found out the Nightmare's strange habit and named the dragon, a heavy storm hit the island, he was lucky that he had found a big cave near the sea cliff of his island before the storm hit. The next day though, he found out that a Changewing had crash landed on his island during the storm, he helped the dragon with her broken leg and feed her. He named the green colored Changewing 'Rainleaf' since the dragon's color was like a leaf and he found the dragon after a rainstorm.

Three weeks after that, during his usual morning flight with Toothless and his two other dragons, Toothless's artificial tail fin got jammed and they crashed onto the Island of Bones, an island full of dragon bones. Flarestorm and Rainleaf immediately landed before crooning at him in concern, soon joined by Toothless who was checking him over, he reassured his dragons that he was alright before got surprised when an angry roar sounded from behind him.

It seems that they had crash landed on top of a pile of bones right in front of a Boneknapper, and it's just his luck that a certain bone that the big dragon wanted to complete it's armor had stuck in his vest. After some time of Toothless pulled him on the run with the Boneknapper on their tail, Hiccup managed to get the bone out from his vest and offered it to the big dragon, he also helped the dragon by putting the bone into the right place. The Boneknapper immediately nuzzling him and followed him to his island, he named the male dragon 'Bonecrusher' on whim.

He had asked Bonecrusher to carry Toothless on his back to the Dracoland since he couldn't fly Toothless due to his tail fin being jammed, he then flew to the nearby village with Rainleaf to fix the tail fin, Rainleaf's ability to camouflage with her surrounding came in handy for this trip. He told Rainleaf to hide in the forest while he went to the village, the village was called Hunterville since the people in there were very skilled in hunting and the best bow makers in the whole archipelago.

He managed to convince them to let him use the forge and trade the materials for the tail fin with a bunch of boar pelts that he collect every time he hunted boars on his island, and after answering questions (which he answered as truthfully as he could without mentioning about dragons) from the Chief - Rugra the Striker, and his daughter - Ruby, who was around his age, they agreed to let him come anytime to trade with them and use the forge.

Two weeks later, he was back at Hunterville and had just finished trading his boar pelts with one of their bows and some arrows when he heard commotion nearby, he went to see what it was and found that Ruby had accidently provoked a Deadly Nadder. Ruby was aiming for a deer, and when the girl shot the arrow, the Nadder suddenly appeared and get hit by the arrow at it's horn instead, so the Nadder went after the girl in anger.

When Hiccup arrived at the scene, he was relieved that the people in Hunterville weren't that used to dragon raids and were having difficulty attacking the Nadder. He simply pulled out the Dragon Nip and walked over to the Nadder while ignoring the warning from the villagers, he grabbed the horn on the Nadder's nose with his left hand while pressing the Dragon Nip on the dragon's nostril with his right hand before pulling the now purring dragon away from the village.

An easy task since he didn't have weapon with him, so the dragon didn't get so hostile towards him, and the fact that the villagers stopped shooting at the dragon when he approached it was helping him as well, he thought that maybe the Nadder thought that he was the leader there and stopped them from attacking by his action.

He returned to the village after he managed to get the male Nadder to stay in the forest, he was met with the shocked villagers and quickly left them with his new bow and arrows. By the time the villagers snapped out from their shock and went after Hiccup to question him, he had already on his way to his island with Toothless (his Night Fury wouldn't let him go with Rainleaf again since there's no problem with the tail fin anymore) and the Nadder whom he named 'Skyring', the Nadder was blue in color and had an orange ring on each of his wing.

Earlier that day, Hiccup went to Hunterville again to trade his boar pelts with some leather, he need to make sure that Toothless's tail fin, the saddle, and his flight gear were in perfect condition for the next day. He got himself being swarmed by the villagers who praised him for his action previously, they didn't know how Hiccup could of 'dominated' the Nadder so easily, but they were grateful since they were having a hard time fighting the dragon.

Hiccup had finished the reinforced the tail fin, the saddle, and his flight gear and was on his way to the forest, so he told Rugra and Ruby that he was leaving when a boy came running passed them screaming in fear, with a green Terrible Terror flying after the boy. How the boy got the Terror chasing after him was a mystery to Hiccup, but he didn't care the reason and simply grabbed the Terror with his two hands, one to keep the Terror in place while the other to scratch the tiny dragon's head. He left immediately after that, he stuffed it in his bag, without another word to the villagers.

Toothless wasn't happy that Hiccup brought a Terror with him, but he managed to get Toothless to accept the Terror in their flock. He called the Terror 'Sharpshot' since the male Terror was agile and could shoot fire faster than any other Terrors.

"Alright!" Hiccup announced once they landed on Dracoland, "Let's rest, everyone, we have a big day tomorrow." The dragons crooned their agreement and left to their usual sleeping spot in the clearing, they slept in the clearing since the cave at the cliff was too small for all of them. Hiccup looked at Toothless and smiled, "Good night, buddy." He said as he got in a comfortable position under his dragon's wing, "We need to be in our best shape for tomorrow".

Toothless purred and settled to sleep himself.

Indeed, they need to be in their best shape for the next day, because tomorrow would be the day when the dragons got their freedom, the day when they would kill the Red Death.

XXXXX

To be continued . . .

XXXXX

Froim : Please review ^ ^


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

* * *

**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

* * *

_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_[Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

Letter

**Emphasis**

_**Dangerous Tone**_

* * *

"Okay, let's run this over once again." Hiccup said as they hovered in V formation just outside the fog barrier of Helheim's gate; with Hiccup and Toothless at the front as they were the leaders, Skyring and Flarestorm behind them as they were the most agile after Toothless, and Bonecrusher along with Rainleaf at the back as they were the biggest in the group.

Sharpshot wasn't with them, Hiccup got the tiny dragon to send a letter for him to Berk, he wanted to tell Stoick that he had found out the reason why the dragons were raiding Berk and would put it to an end. Hopefully, if his Dad would listen to him, he could convince his Dad to stop killing the dragons.

"We will first shoot the volcano, to get the dragons out of it and lure the Red Death out of the volcano." Hiccup started as he looked at his dragon friends, "Skyring and Flarestorm, you are fast and agile, you will help me and Toothless fight the Red Death. Bonecrusher and Rainleaf, you are big and could intimidate the other dragons easily, you will lead the escaping dragons to a nearby woods, away from the humans, get them stay there then come back here to back us up." The dragons roared in agreement, Hiccup nodded, "Let's go then." He said before they entered the barrier of fog.

They flew to the volcano and circled it, Hiccup searched for a weak spot to attack, he found it soon after. "Alright!" He called for his dragon friend's attention, "All of you, shoot that spot." He pointed at the spot he found had a crack, they could destroy it if they attacked it with their fire balls, except for Rainleaf since she sprayed acid not fire.

The dragons fired at the spot, they saw that it began to crack and shot again, the rock wall crumbled under their shots. "Alright, we shoot once again and fly away as soon as the first dragon is out of there!" Hiccup commanded, they followed the order and shot the volcano again. They didn't have to wait long for the dragons to fly out of the mountain, "Get to the plan!".

Bonecrusher and Rainleaf roared and separated themselves from the group, they roared at the escaping dragons and led them away from the Nest. Hiccup looked at Skyring and Flarestorm, "I need you two to get that thing mad, distract it while I search for it's weakness!" He told them, "As soon as that thing is out of the mountain, shoot it!" The two dragons roared in understanding, Hiccup nodded at them and motioned for Toothless to fly up so he could observe better.

A few seconds later, they heard the Red Death roar in anger and the mountain broke apart, Skyring and Flarestorm flew from the falling boulders and hovered in place, as soon as the Red Death got out and noticed them, they began shooting at it.

Hiccup and Toothless circled above them and observe the situation, Hiccup was using his knowledge from Dragon Training to find out it's weakness. "Hm, heavily armored skull and tail, definitely made for bashing and crushing, best to stay clear of both, buddy. Small eyes, large nostrils, I think it relies on hearing and smell." He said out loud before something catching his eyes, "That thing has wings." He said to his dragon, "Come on, bud! Let's see if it can fly!".

Toothless twitched his ears to show that he heard Hiccup before turning and diving towards the Red Death, he shot his plasma blast at the thing's head, catching it's attention.

"Skyring, Flarestorm!" Hiccup called at the two dragons, "Get away! We will take it from here!" Knowing that they had reached their shot limit and unable to help anymore, they gave a short roar before flying away. The Red Death then unfurled it's wings and began flapping, "Well, it can fly." Hiccup said calmly before he and Toothless lured the Red Death towards the sea stacks to hopefully slow it down.

For something as big as the Red Death, it was slow, but it's strength was not a joke. So even with Toothless and Hiccup flew through the sea stacks and use them against the Red Death, it simply broke the stacks with it's body and was gaining on them.

Hiccup looked around to see if there's anything that he could use before noticing the dark clouds up above, an idea hit him. "Toothless!" He called his best friend, "Time to disappear, bud!" He said before leading them to fly upwards towards the clouds.

As they flew, the Red Death was closing in on them and Hiccup heard it inhaled to shot fire, "Here it comes!" He yelled before Toothless managed to avoid the volume of flame, albeit barely, before disappearing into the clouds a second later. They could hear the angry roar of the Red Death, letting them know where it was, "Aim for the wings, bud." He said to his friend.

Toothless growled in understanding before dive bombing towards the big dragon, he aimed for the wings and shot before flying away again before the Red Death could catch them. This repeated many times before the Red Death lost it and began firing everywhere.

"Watch out!" Hiccup yelled as they flew away, the fire gaining fast and caught Toothless's prosthetic tail fin, "Okay, times up." He said before looking forward again, "Let's see if this works." He then directed Toothless to a dive, "Come on! Is that the best you can do?!" He taunted the big dragon as they flew passed it, Toothless roared his own insult, they got the desired result as the Red Death diving after them.

"Stay with me buddy. We're good, just a little bit longer." Hiccup said to his dragon as he noticed Toothless began to grow nervous, he focused on his hearing to the monster behind them, "Hold, Toothless." He said again before hearing what he was waiting for, "Now!".

They turned around and facing the Red Death's mouth, just as the Red Death about to shot at them, Toothless shot his plasma blast into the monster's mouth, causing an explosion inside the monster's body. They burst out from the clouds with the Red Death hot on their tail. It glanced forward and saw the ground rushing up, it opened it's wings to stop the fall, but the punctured, damaged wings couldn't do their job. The Red Death crashed into the ground and exploded.

Hiccup and Toothless couldn't enjoy their victory yet, however, as they need to get away from the approaching fire and avoiding the rest of the Red Death's body, like it's spikes and tail. They managed to avoid the spikes, but just when they were about to avoid the tail, Toothless's prosthetic tail fin broke apart. "No." Hiccup gasped in fear as he felt the tail fin went dead, "No!".

Toothless roared in panic and tried to move away but he couldn't, the Red Death's tail hit them and Hiccup got thrown from the saddle. Hiccup felt an intense pain from his left leg and the heat from all around him as he fell towards the sea of flames, the last thing he saw before losing his consciousness was his dragon diving after him.

XXXXX

Astrid was sewing a saddle for Stormfly in the cove that day, with Rivera perching on her shoulders, when the said dragon focused it's gaze at the sky and suddenly shot up to the air. "Rivera?!" She called out to the dragon, surprised that her dragon would suddenly fly away like that.

Two months had passed and Rivera's wings had long since healed, her tiny dragon was always near her when she came to the cove, and would fly to a higher place when she was away, but this was the first time her dragon flew without giving her a warning like that.

She stood up and squint her eyes to look at her dragon, she then saw her dragon approaching another Terrible Terror that was flying towards the village. "Rivera!" She called to her dragon, "What's wrong?!" She watched as they crooned to each other like they were talking in their own language, before raising her eyebrows when her dragon and the other Terror flew to her.

The other Terror hovered in front of her while Rivera perched on her shoulders again, "Hello there." Astrid greeted the other dragon as she lifted her arm, the dragon saw her movement and landed on her arm, "Is there something that I can help you with?" She asked in confusion and curiosity.

The Terror squawked at her and showed her it's back, where a strange paper attached to one of the spikes. "A paper?" Astrid picked it up and saw that there were two words on it, 'To Stoick'. "A letter?" She asked to no one, "Who would use a dragon to send a let-" She stopped herself as a certain boy entered her mind, "Hiccup?" She asked as she looked at the dragon, "Is this from Hiccup?" She asked the dragon.

The Terror squawked and nodded it's head, Astrid's eyes widened in surprise, "Wow, Hiccup sent a letter to his own Dad through a dragon . . . wow, just . . . wow." She said to herself in awe, "This means that Stoick already knows that Hiccup befriends dragons . . ." She then looked at the dragon, "Alright, do you want me to call Stoick here? The one who is supposed to receive this letter?".

The Terror shook it's head, "No?" She asked in confusion, "You want me to take this letter to Stoick then?" The dragon nodded, she blinked, "Okay then, I will give this letter to him." She said with a nod. The Terror cooed at her and nuzzled her hand before flying away, possibly to where Hiccup was.

"To think that Hiccup could train a dragon to send letter . . ." She said with a shake of her head, "He is really something." She looked at the letter once again before looking at Rivera, "Alright, girl. I need to get this letter to Stoick, so see you tomorrow." Her dragon crooned at her and flew to a nearby tree, she smiled at the dragon before turning around and ran towards the Chief's house.

About a week after Hiccup left Berk, Stoick and Gobber had gone to visit the nearby village with a small group of Vikings, they said that they want to try and have an alliance with them, but Astrid had overheard them talking about searching for Hiccup. They returned two weeks after that, only to go again to another village two weeks later, it repeated like that ever since.

Astrid thought that Hiccup got a perfect timing, because Stoick and Gobber had just returned from their newest visit, so she could get this letter to the Chief right away.

"Chief, are you here?" Astrid asked as she knocked on the door to the Chief's house.

She waited for a few seconds before the door opened to reveal Stoick standing with Gobber behind him, "Astrid." He greeted her, "Is there something you need my help with?".

Astrid looked around to make sure no one was nearby before entering the house, "First, Chief." She started as she closed the door, "I had noticed that you and Gobber are hiding something from the village." She looked at them seriously, "I want to know what you are hiding." She figured that since she would give them a letter that was sent through a dragon, they might as well come clear with what they were hiding, things would be less awkward then.

Stoick and Gobber paled, "Uh, what are you talking about?" Stoick asked, feigning confusion.

Astrid sighed and shook her head in amusement, "Like Father like Son." She smirked, "You and Hiccup are really bad in acting casual when hiding something, Chief." She said smugly, satisfied when she saw the Chief grew even more pale, "First about the Nest." She began her reason for accusing them hiding something, "It's not a secret that you were obsessed in finding the Nest and destroy it so the dragons would leave, but then you suddenly said that you lost interest in finding the Nest." She raised an eyebrow at him, "It's absurd, Chief".

"It's not absurd." Stoick argued, "I just get bored in searching for the Nest only to fail every time, not to mention the chance of losing people when we go out to search for the Nest".

" 'We are Vikings, it's an occupational hazard'." Astrid quoted, "It's what you always said to the people." She smirked again, "And second, you said that you don't want for the Trainees to get stressed having to kill a dragon in front of the people, but you forget that the Trainees were all excited in killing dragons in front of everyone. It's not something stressful, Chief, it's something 'Cool' for them".

Astrid crossed her arms as Stoick gaped at her, Gobber even had his eyes widened and froze like a deer caught in the light, "It's because of Hiccup, isn't it?" She guessed, "He told you something that had changed your mind".

Stoick sighed as he knows that he had lost the argument, "He wrote me a letter." He admitted in defeat, he pulled out a paper from his vest and handed it to Astrid, "This is the letter he wrote for me before he left.

Astrid unfolded the paper and read the letter, she felt bad when she read the part about Hiccup didn't have any friends in the village, but she couldn't help but smile at the end of it. How Hiccup told Stoick to stop searching for the nest and how he left to search for the real reason behind the dragon raids, she found herself admiring the boy for that, and her respect for the boy grew once again.

"Hiccup is a genius." Astrid commented as she finished reading the letter, "To create a prosthetic tail fin for a dragon and trained him . . . he is perfect to be a Chief, to be a leader." She folded back the letter and returned it to the Chief, "You must be very proud of him, Chief".

Stoick smiled sadly, "I am." He answered softly but firmly, "But I'm ashamed of myself for not realizing just how great my Son is before he left." He sighed tiredly before looking at her, "So, you now know what we are hiding, are you going to tell everyone about it?".

"No." Astrid shook her head, "It would be best if we tell them after the raids stopped, so they won't have anything against Hiccup anymore." She then pulled the letter from Hiccup out of her small bag and offered it to Stoick, "Cheer up, Chief." She said with a smile, "This letter is from Hiccup, another dragon of his had delivered it for him".

Stoick and Gobber gasped in surprise before Stoick took the letter from her, he ripped the envelope and took the paper inside and unfolded it.

To Stoick the Vast,

Chief of Hairy Hooligans Tribe of Berk.

Dad, I have found out the reason why the dragons kept raiding Berk. They do it not because that want to, but because they have to. They have to raid us in order to feed a really big monster in the Nest, or they would be eaten themselves. By the time you read this letter, I would already engage in a battle against the monster, which I called Red Death.

I'm quite confident in mine and my dragons ability in defeating the Red Death and kill it, but in case I couldn't come out of this battle alive, I want you and Gobber to know that I love you. You are my Father, even though we aren't that close, and Gobber is like a second Father to me. I love you both, Dad, and tell Gobber for me that I love him too. I had said that I self-exiled myself, but I still missed you two, I hope you both are safe and sound.

If I win this battle, the dragons will stop raiding Berk, and the other villages for that matter, so could you please stop killing them? Could you please move pass your hatred of dragons for taking Mom away? Could you please release the dragons from the arena? They deserve to be free, it's not right to strip them of their freedom any longer.

They only protecting themselves, Dad, just like what we do. Please don't hate them for trying to survive.

I will contact you again in about a month or two, if three months passed and you still don't hear from me, it's safe to assume that I didn't survive the battle. If I don't survive, I want to say that I'm sorry for breaking your heart again. Please remember that I will always love you, you are still my Dad no matter what.

Sincerely,

Hiccup.

"No." Stoick shook his head as his hands trembled, "Oh Odin." He closed his eyes as fear filled his heart, "Please protect my Son".

Astrid and Gobber, who also reading the letter with Stoick, also closed their eyes and prayed with all their heart.

_Please be safe, Hiccup._

XXXXX

To be continued . . .

XXXXX

Froim : Please review ^ ^


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

* * *

**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

* * *

_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_[Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

Letter

**Emphasis**

_**Dangerous Tone**_

* * *

Hiccup never fails to frighten Toothless to death.

The first time the boy gave Toothless a fright was during their test flight. The boy was trying to catch something called 'cheat sheet' and accidentally got unhooked from the saddle, and then the boy fell ahead of him, thankfully they managed to get to each other. Their bond was not as strong before, but it still frightened him so much, and after the incident, their bond grew stronger than ever. They were one since then, soul mate, and they would protect each other even at the face of death.

Not long after that, the boy gave him another fright when they encountered Bonecrusher. They crash landed on the Island of Bones right in front of the Boneknapper, how a particular bone that the big dragon wanted could get stuck in Hiccup's coat was beyond him, and they could only run from the Boneknapper until Hiccup could get the bone out of his coat. Even then, the boy gave him another fright when the boy climbed off his back and walked over to the big dragon, he couldn't describe how relieved he was that Hiccup didn't get injured and their problem with Bonecrusher ended in peace.

At the moment, the boy was giving him yet another fright.

Toothless roared in panic when he saw the monster's clubbed tail headed for them, his prosthetic tail fin had been ruined and there's no way they could evade the tail. He tried to angle himself so he would take the blow but failed, he felt it more than hearing it when the tail hit Hiccup's leg and crushed the bone of the boy's left leg. He feared and was concerned that the boy would be in a great pain, but his fear grew ten times stronger when he felt the boy's weight leave him.

_"Hiccup!"_ He roared in panic and fear before diving after the boy, flapping his wings in desperation as he tried to catch the boy before the fire engulfed them both. He managed to catch the boy's foot with his teeth and pulled the boy into his paws before he covered the boy's small form with his wings, he closed his eyes to prevent himself getting blinded from the fire and prepared himself for a very bad crash landing.

The possibility of him dying from the fall didn't even registered in his mind as the only thought he had was to make sure Hiccup survived the fall, cushioning the boy with his own body so he would be the one receiving the most damage, all he cared about was Hiccup's safety.

They crashed not long after he covered Hiccup's body with his paws and wings, his strength left him as he felt intense heat and pain from the crash, but he refused to move and risk the boy's safety, even after he lost his consciousness. He didn't know how long he was there, engulfed in the sea of flame, but he woke up to the panicked roars calling his name from around him and gentle nudge to his body.

He opened his eyes and met the sight of the other four dragons, all of them looking down at him with concern and panic.

_"Are you okay?"_

_"What happened?"_

_"Are you hurt somewhere?"_

_"Where's Hiccup?"_

All of them were asking at the same time, causing a headache to form. _"One by one, guys."_ He complained to them, _"I'm alright, the fall only made me sore all over, nothing too dangerous. Don't worry about me, I will tell you later what had happened, and Hiccup is here."_ He answered all of their questions in one go as he moved his wings to reveal the boy in his embrace.

They all looked relieved before Rainleaf, the mother hen she was, probed onto Hiccup's unconscious form to check if the boy was injured. _"Oh no."_ She let out a worried whine that caught their attention, she looked at all of them before pointed at Hiccup's left leg with her muzzle, they looked at the direction and their eyes widened in horror. The boy's leg was in an unnatural angle and was covered in blood, from the look of it, the boy was still bleeding and fast.

Dragons were intelligent beings, it's a well known fact to all other intelligent beings except Vikings, so they know what would happen if they didn't stop the bleeding and brought the boy to a place where his injury could be treated best. They know that they had to somehow stop the bleeding and brought the boy to the village they visited often, the problem was how would they stop the boy's bleeding?

They often saw how humans tie something above an injured part of a body to stop a bleeding, but they didn't have anything to tie around the boy's leg, and even if they have it, they didn't have human's hands to do the job. They all looked at each other in worry before Toothless caught a sight of Rainleaf's vine-like appendage, _"Rainleaf."_ He called to the Changewing's attention, _"Use it"_ He then sent a mental image to her.

Dragons understood human language but couldn't speak it, they could only speak their own language. They also communicate with each other using body gestures, the tone they let out like growl, purr, and so on, along with mental images they sent to their fellow dragons. The dragons were sometimes frustrated when they couldn't talk with Hiccup, but thankfully Hiccup was a smart boy, he could understand them by the gestures they made and the tone they let out, they didn't know if the boy could receive mental images from them or not, simply because they haven't tried it yet. If Hiccup could receive the mental images though, that would make their communication easier with the boy.

Rainleaf perked at the metal image and got the message clearly, to use her vine-like appendage to wrap the boy's leg to stop the bleeding until they got to the village. She immediately did as Toothless told her and wrapped her 'vine' tightly around the boy's leg, a bit above the injury, while making sure that she didn't do it too tightly in case she broke the boy's bone.

Satisfied, Toothless nodded at her and stood up slowly since his body was sore after such a fall. _"We need to get him to human village."_ He reminded them all, causing them to tense and looked at each other, _"Berk is out of option, they would kill us first before asking question, our best bet is Hunterville"_.

For them to enter the village was a high risk thing to do, and they fear what may befall them should they try, for obvious reason, but Hiccup would die if they didn't do it. They didn't want to lose the boy, they cared for the boy like their own kin, so they come to decision. With a nod from each of them, they prepared to fly to the village.

_"Get on, Toothless."_ Bonecrusher growled softly at Toothless and motioned to his back, his size and strength would provide the best support for Toothless so the Night Fury could go with them, he also lowered himself so Toothless could climb on easier.

_"Thank you, Bonecrusher."_ Toothless crooned in gratitude before climbing onto Bonecrusher's back, he looked at Hiccup to see Rainleaf using her other 'vine' to move Hiccup onto her back. Once the boy was secured on Rainleaf's back with Skyring flying above her to make sure Hiccup would stay in place, they flew to the village's direction.

XXXXX

Ruby was in the Training Ground, training archery with her Father when they heard the commotion, she exchanged glance with her Father before they ran out to see what caused the commotion.

"What's going on here?!" Rugra demanded as he and Ruby pushed their way through the crowd of people.

When they saw what caused the commotion though, their jaws dropped. "D- dragons!" Ruby squeaked as she saw the five dragons at the edge of the woods. The Nadder from the group squawked when it saw her, the small scratch on it's horn caught her attention and she immediately recognized it, "You are the one I accidentally shot." She mumbled as she looked at the dragon, she was shocked when the dragon nodded at her.

Not only Ruby, all of the villagers who were present were gasping in shock as well, it's not everyday they saw a dragon nodded in answer to a human's words. "But what are they doing here?" Alto, Ruby's boyfriend, wondered out loud, "Not only are they just standing there and not attacking us, but they keep making some crooning noise".

As if on cue, the Changewing from the group of dragons walked forward while crooning softly, as if to try and tell them that it didn't mean any harm. The guards immediately aimed their arrows at the Changewing, "Wait!" Rugra stopped them as he looked at the dragon carefully, "There's something on it's back".

The Changewing looked at the Chief's eyes and moved it's vine-like appendage, they gasped in shock again when they saw the dragon lowered a certain boy to the ground at Rugra's feet. The boy was Hiccup, who often came to their village to trade and used the forge, and the boy was injured. The Changewing softly nudged the boy with it's head, it then crooned at the Chief pleadingly before returning to it's group.

Rugra looked at the dragons and noticed that all of them were looking at the boy with emotions that he thought would be impossible for dragons, worry and concern clearly shown in their eyes. He shook his head and focused on the matter at hands, the boy was wounded, that much was clear, and he need to see the boy's injury. He knelt at the boy and looked at the boy's left leg, the leg was at a strange angle was covered in blood, there's a mark where the Changewing wrapped around the boy's leg to stop the bleeding, and he must admit that the Changewing was smart to do so. If the Changewing didn't stop the bleeding, the boy would surely die before the dragons even arrived in their village.

"Everyone." Rugra called out as he picked the boy up, "Get back to work, I need to get Hiccup to the Healer, and leave the dragons." His statement earning many shocked gasps, "They didn't attack us at all, so it's safe to assume that they come here to get the boy some help. Don't attack the dragons, only attack if they attack us." With that, he ran to the Healer's house.

Ruby watched her Father ran to the Healer's house direction before looking at the dragons again, now that her Father brought Hiccup away from their view, the dragons were laying on the grounds while looking longingly at the direction her Father took off earlier. She couldn't help but thought that the dragons were acting like a dog waiting for it's master, she shook her head to rid the thought before following her Father.

Elma, the Healer, told them to wait outside while she work on the boy, sometime later Rugra was called inside to help Elma with something. It's turned out that Hiccup's left leg had to be amputated, Ruby was shocked that the boy had to lose his leg, Rugra explained to her that Elma told him that the boy's bone had shattered to pieces, it would be impossible to heal and would endanger Hiccup's like if they didn't cut it off.

After Elma finished treating the boy's injuries, Rugra explained to the villagers that the boy would live but need rest, they need to leave the boy alone so he could rest well with Elma watching over him. They were surprised when they heard a chorus of dragon's roar, the dragons turned out to be listening to them and was roaring as soon as they heard the good news, the people were surprised again when they realized that the dragons understood what the people was talking about.

"Shut up!" Elma yelled as soon as she realized that the dragons could understand human's words, it was proved to be right when the dragons stopped their roaring and looked at her with surprise clearly written on their face, "The boy needs to rest, so you better be quiet, dragons!".

The village was silent for a few seconds, wondering what the dragons would do being yelled at like that, they were surprised again when the dragons finally reacted. The dragons were looking at the one with black color, and the black dragon crooned at them. It's not even a second later that the rest of the dragons flew away, the Changewing disappeared into the forest while the other three fly off of the island. Then, ignoring the shocked cries from the villagers, the black dragon forced it's way into the Healer's house and curled around the sleeping boy. The black dragon would glare towards anyone who came near the boy ever since, refusing to leave the boy's side no matter what.

XXXXX

Toothless let out a low croon as he lowered his head beside Hiccup's, a sad sigh left him as he looked at Hiccup's sleeping form. Three months and a half had passed since the day they brought Hiccup to Hunterville, and Hiccup had yet to wake up.

After they brought Hiccup to Hunterville, they were scared because they heard that Hiccup had caught a fever, something that was dangerous considering how weak Hiccup was. A week passed and Hiccup's fever had healed, they were relieved when they heard the news, but they were worried when Hiccup was still sleeping even after another week passed.

Well, not really sleeping. Hiccup was practically awake, his eyes were open and he could eat, with the help of the girl named Ruby, and all that, but his eyes were vacant. The boy wasn't aware of his surroundings and wasn't responsive, his body was awake and yet his consciousness was still sleeping. The humans guessed that Hiccup was in that kind of state was due to the traumatic experience from when Hiccup got his wound, and the dragons agreed to the human's logic, fighting Red Death was clearly a traumatic experience for a human hatchling. They could only wait for Hiccup to wake up, really wake up.

A month later passed and still not a single sign of Hiccup 'waking up', Toothless and the rest of the dragons were beginning to worry that Hiccup would never wake up again, but such a thought had frightened them so much that they threw it away and assuring themselves that Hiccup would wake up. Even so, after three months and a half had passed without a sign that Hiccup would wake up, their worry returned with vengeance and they refused to leave the island anymore.

Toothless and Sharpshot were small enough that they could enter the house, the rest weren't so lucky and had to wait in the forest. So they had agreed that Toothless and Sharpshot would stay at the boy's side and to inform the rest, who would wait at the forest, as soon as Hiccup showed any sign of waking up. Sharpshot was chosen to be the messenger since Toothless refused to leave Hiccup's side.

_"Any sign of him 'waking up'?"_ Sharpshot asked as the green dragon entered the house through the window.

_"Not yet."_ Toothless answered in low spirit.

Among their flock, Toothless was the one who had known Hiccup the longest and was the closest with the boy, he was the one affected the most by Hiccup's condition. The others might be sad if something happened to Hiccup, but Toothless didn't think that he would survive if he ever lost his Rider.

_"Here."_ Sharpshot dropped a big Cod near Toothless, _"Rainleaf caught it and told me to bring it to you."_ He explained as he flew to the bed and landed near Hiccup's head, on the other side from Toothless.

_"You can have it."_ Toothless said shortly.

_"Eat it."_ Sharpshot hissed angrily, _"You haven't eaten anything for the last few days"._

_"I'm not hungry."_ Toothless said shortly again, he didn't even spare a glance at his favorite fish.

_"It doesn't matter if you're hungry or not. Eat it, big guy."_ Sharpshot hissed again, _"I know you are worried about Hiccup, we all do, but you can't just stop eating like this!"_.

Toothless narrowed his eyes at Sharpshot, _"Shut up."_ He snarled.

_"Whatever."_ Sharpshot huffed, _"Just know that Hiccup would be disappointed at you if you keep starving yourself"_.

_"What do you know about him?"_ Toothless growled in anger, he was the one who know Hiccup the best among them, he couldn't stand it that Sharpshot acted like he know Hiccup more than Toothless. _"You only know Hiccup for a day before we fought Red Death! Don't act like you know him more than me"_.

_"I know."_ Sharpshot said calmly with a sigh, _"But you aren't thinking straight at the moment."_ He locked gaze with Toothless, _"What do you think Hiccup will say if he saw you like this? If the situation is reversed, you don't want for Hiccup to starve himself just because you are in a sleep walking state, do you?"_.

Toothless couldn't say anything against it, because it was true. If he was the one who was in Hiccup's place at the moment, and Hiccup refused to eat just because he hasn't woke up, he would surely scold his brother, not by blood of course, for it.

Reluctantly and with a long sigh, Toothless picked the fish with his teeth and swallowed it, before he returned to his previous position beside Hiccup. _"That speech earlier isn't coming from you, is it."_ He commented since he was tired of the silence.

Due to Toothless and Sharpshot's presence in the house, only the Healer dared to enter it. So when the Healer was out of the house, the house was filled with silence, save for the short conversation between Toothless and Sharpshot.

_"Nope."_ Sharpshot answered with a smile, somehow all of them learned how to smile from Hiccup, _"That was what Rainleaf told me to tell you if you still refused to eat"_.

_"What a mother hen."_ Toothless grumbled unhappily.

_"We are worried about you, you know."_ Sharpshot commented, _"You and Hiccup are our Alphas, without you, we didn't know what to do with the flock"_.

_"So?"_ Toothless asked nonchalantly.

_"So make sure you take care of yourself better."_ Sharpshot said before chuckling, _"Her words, not mine"_.

Toothless snorted, he raised his head to retort when he heard a soft moan. His head snapped to Hiccup's face to see if the boy was finally waking up, really waking up. He saw Hiccup's eyes flutter open and his own eyes widened, it was only for a split second before Hiccup closed his eyes again, but Toothless had seen that the life had come back to the boy's eyes, _"Call the others!"_ He said excitedly to the Terror, _"Hiccup is finally waking up! For real!"_.

_"On it!"_ Sharpshot answered excitedly as he shot out from the Healer's house.

_"Come on, Brother."_ Toothless crooned in encouragement, _"Open your eyes, I know you can do it."_ He licked Hiccup's cheek, _"Open your eyes, my Brother"_.

It took a few more tries, but Hiccup finally opened his eyes. Hiccup looked around in confusion before his eyes locked with Toothless, a soft smile gracing his lips, "Toothless . . ." He whispered as he raised his hands and gently touched the sides of Toothless's head, "I missed you, buddy." He whispered softly as he touched his forehead with his dragon's.

_"And I missed you too."_ Toothless answered in a soft croon, enjoying the moment of bonding, _"I'm glad that you are finally wake up . . . My dear Brother"_.

XXXXX

To be continued . . .

XXXXX

Froim : Please review ^ ^


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

* * *

**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

* * *

_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_[Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

Letter

**Emphasis**

_**Dangerous Tone**_

* * *

_"No." Stoick shook his head as his hands trembled, "Oh Odin." He closed his eyes as fear filled his heart, "Please protect my Son"._

_Astrid and Gobber, who also reading the letter with Stoick, also closed their eyes and prayed with all their heart._

Please be safe, Hiccup.

_"Let's head out to the nest." Stoick said suddenly as he hastily folded the paper and put it inside his pocket, "We need to help him"._

_"Stoick, wait." Gobber called out as he placed a hand on the Chief's shoulder, "It's useless. We have never found the nest before, and even if we found it this time, the fight would already over by the time we got there"._

_Stoick glared at Gobber, "Are you saying that I should stay here and doing nothing while my son is risking his life out there?" He demanded angrily._

_"No." Gobber shook his head, "But even if you go now, it would take days to go there"._

_Stoick wanted to protest but Astrid was faster, "Then I will go." She said with determined expression._

_"What?" Stoick and Gobber asked at the same time._

_"I will go." Astrid repeated, "I will go to the nest. If Hiccup still fighting this monster, then I will help him"._

_"Lass, didn't you hear me?" Gobber asked incredulously, "It would take _days_ to go there! Not to mention that we have never found the nest before"._

_Astrid shook her head and pulled out a book, "I will go on a dragon, that way I will be there in a few hours and not days." She explained seriously as she motioned the book at them, "This is Hiccup's book, he wrote all he knows about dragons and how to train them, I already tried it and befriend the Nadder from the Arena, I can get her to help take me to the nest"._

_Their eyes widened in shock, they looked at each other before nodding at Astrid, "We are counting on you, Astrid." Stoick said seriously, "But promise me one thing." Astrid nodded at him to let him continue, "If the situation is too dangerous, come back here. As much as it would hurt me to lose Hiccup, I can't let you die too, your Mother would be devastated"._

_Astrid looked at him sadly, "I understand, Chief." She promised with a solemn nod._

_"Let's get to the Arena then." Gobber suggested, "The Nadder?"._

_"Yes, Stormfly." Astrid answered as they walked as fast as they could without being seen as suspicious, "But can you let her go once I return? I don't want her to be caged anymore"._

_"Yes." Stoick said firmly, "As long as your dragon won't steal anything from the village or attack us, but you need to make sure no one else knows about it"._

_"Her." Astrid corrected, "Not it, but alright, I will hide her in the forest so no one would know"._

_They arrived at the Arena and Astrid immediately released her dragon while Stoick and Gobber made sure no one would see them, Stormfly greeted her with a happy croon. "Stormfly, I missed you too, girl." She said with a smile and gave her dragon a nice scratch for a bit, "I need your help, girl." That got Stormfly's attention, her dragon looked at her straight in the eyes with one of her eyes, "I need you to take me to the nest." Stormfly squawked in surprise and took a step back, "I know that there's a monster there, but my friend is there." She explained pleadingly, "I need to go there and see if we could help him fight this monster, or if the fight already over, I need to make sure he is alive"._

_Stormfly looked at her for a long time before nodding and motioned at her back, Astrid smiled, "Thank you, Stormfly." She said in relief. Astrid got a rope from a supply box and wrapped it around her dragon's neck so she could hold onto something while they were in the sky, then she led her out of the Arena and flew out to the nest._

_It took Stormfly less than two hours to get to the nest, Astrid trusted her dragon completely to know where to go, and when they arrived, she immediately caught sight of something that caused her neck hair to stand up, there's a huge pile of ash and bones. From the size of the bones, she could only guess how big this monster Hiccup told them about, certainly bigger than their Great Hall._

_"Let's circle around, girl." Astrid said to her dragon, "Alert me if you see a Night Fury, my friend would be with him"._

_Stormfly squawked and flew around the nest, but even after a few rounds, they didn't see any Night Fury in there. Just when she thought that she couldn't find anything, she caught a side of something. "Stormfly." She alerted her dragon and pointed to the direction she saw that something, she didn't dare to direct her dragon yet since Hiccup had wrote in the book to let her dragon lead the way before they could sync with each other, and so she let Stormfly to lead the way._

_They landed near the thing that caught her attention and she climbed off of her dragon, she picked up the strange object and observed it. She was confused at first, but when she looked at it carefully, she could see that the object was once a prosthetic tail fin. She gasped in horror, earning a concerned croon from Stormfly, "It's a prosthetic tail fin, Hiccup's dragon's prosthetic tail fin." She looked at Stormfly with tear filled eyes, "Without this, Hiccup's Night Fury couldn't fly, they . . . it's a high chance that they are already dead by now." She threw her arms around Stormfly's neck and sobbed, "Oh, Hiccup"._

_She cried for a long time, she didn't want to believe that Hiccup had died. They were once best friends, but after Hiccup's mother and her father died, they had drifted apart. She had ignored Hiccup in order to be a Shield Maiden, and now she regretted it deeply. If only she stayed with Hiccup, maybe he would still be alive._

_Time really flew by fast,_ Astrid thought as she lied on the grassy field in the cove, _I really can't believe that a year had passed since then._

It broke Stoick's and Gobber's heart when she returned with the news, but they still held a small hope that Hiccup had somehow survived. They waited for some kind of news from Hiccup, the boy promised them to report to them in a month or two, but after three months had passed and still no news from Hiccup, they lost their hope.

Hiccup had told them through his letter that it would be safe to assume that he died in battle if they didn't hear a word from him in three months, and considering what she had seen in the nest, they assumed that Hiccup died after he killed the monster, they were mourning in their own ways since then. Stoick would busy himself with his duty, but everyone could see that he wasn't really giving his best, and no one but Astrid and Gobber knew why. Gobber would spend his time by himself in the forge, staring at the drawings on Hiccup's personal workspace, and he would go drinking at the Great hall every night. Astrid herself was no better, even though she would still helping Gobber in the forge and learning about how to make a good axe, she would spend most of her time in the cove, reading Hiccup's book while remembering the boy and sometimes would fly around with Stormfly and Rivera.

Now, a year after she returned from the nest, she found herself at the cove again, laying on the ground and staring at the rare clear sky, all the while thinking about Hiccup. She would think about everything that they had done together in the past, and every single moment where they would walk across each other, she was always secretly amused when Hiccup stuttered when talking to her.

Astrid sighed as she closed her eyes, her chest always felt so tight when she thought about Hiccup. She didn't know since when, but she was well aware that she had developed a crush towards the heir of Berk, she guessed that it happened around the time she learned about dragons from Hiccup's book. After she first learning that Hiccup went against Viking's tradition and befriended a Night Fury, she felt admiration towards the boy's courage, the boy was the bravest Viking among all of them. Then she spent her time thinking about what Hiccup experienced during the time of finding Toothless to when Hiccup self-exiled himself, her admiration grew into a crush without her knowing it. It hurt her now when she thought about Hiccup, her chest would tighten and she would feel like crying, all because she would never see the boy again and told him how she was crushing on him.

She opened her eyes when she felt a gentle nudge on her shoulder, Stormfly and Rivera came to her view before her two dragons licked her cheeks. "Stop it." She said with a chuckle as she sat up, she looked at the two dragonesses and smiled, "You are back." She stated as she stood up, "Finished with fishing?".

They warbled cheerfully before Stormfly motioned to her back, an invitation to fly together. Astrid smiled again and went to where she kept the saddle in the cove before saddling Stormfly. She had finished the saddle a few days after she returned from the nest, the long time was because she was bad at sewing, she need to remake the saddle a few times.

Astrid could fell herself relaxing as they flew among the clouds. She loved her time flying with Stormfly and Rivera, it always make her feel better and easier for her to cope with the fact that she would never see Hiccup again.

"Thank you, Stormfly, Rivera." Astrid said softly as she took in the beauty of the world from her current view, "The both of you are always there for me when I need you the most." Stormfly let out a soft croon while looking up at her with one of her eyes, while Rivera flew to her before landing on her shoulder and began nuzzling her cheek. She smiled and scratched Rivera before placing her Terror on the saddle, she then gripped the saddle with both hands and leaned forward a bit, a hint for Stormfly to fly faster.

She had learned to fly in synch with Stormfly in the last year, and she had grown closer and closer with her dragons. It thanks to Hiccup's book that it was all possible, and it's thanks to Hiccup himself for writing the book or she would never found the book at all.

_Hiccup . . ._ Astrid's eyes saddened and regret filled her heart, she really wished that she treated Hiccup better in the past, she wished that she and Hiccup were best friends like in the past.

An alarmed squawked pulled her out of her thought and looked at Stormfly to see what had alarmed her dragon like that, she saw Stormfly and Rivera looking at something below and followed their gaze, her eyes widened when she saw 6 big ships heading towards Berk in a close formation. She pulled out a small telescope that she traded from Trader Johann and took a look, she gasped when she recognized the symbol on the ship's flags, those ships were Outcast's!

"Stormfly!" Astrid called out seriously as she put her telescope back into her small bag, "Come on, girl, we need to get back to Berk as soon as possible!".

Sensing Astrid's worry and anxiety, Stormfly flew back to the forest of Berk as fast as she could and landed near the village, it was a risky thing to do, but she thought that it would better if she dropped Astrid closer to the village than in the cove.

"Thanks, girl!" Astrid said in a hurry as she climbed down, "Stay close but hidden, I might need your help to fight them later." She then ran as fast as her feet could carry her to the Chief's house, where she know Stoick would be since there's nothing much the Chief need to do that day.

"Chief Stoick!" Astrid yelled as she barged in, who cares about manner when it concerning her village's safety?

"Astrid?" Stoick asked in surprise as he saw the worry on the girl's face, he immediately folded the letter in his hands before putting it inside his pocket. He had been reading Hiccup's first letter again and again when he got free time, it helped ease his pain, even if it's only for a tiny bit. "What's wrong? Is there a problem?" He asked as he approached the girl.

"Outcasts." Astrid reported as she regained her composure, "I was flying on Stormfly just a moment ago and I saw their ships heading for Berk, there's 6 of them and each carrying catapults".

Stoick's face turned serious, "How long do you think until arrive here?" He asked in Chief mode.

"Um, I don't know how long it is with a ship since I'm too used with flying on dragon's back, Chief." Astrid said nervously, afraid that Stoick would angry at her.

"It's alright." Stoick calmed her down and placed his right hand on her left shoulder, "How far from the village they are?".

Astrid thought for a moment, "When I saw them, I think it's about 3 miles* from here." She informed him.

**_(*AN : Sorry, but I don't know how far Outcast Island from Berk, so I just picked a number and get done with it)_**

"Good, we still get enough time to prepare ourselves." Stoick breathed softly before going to grab his axe, "Astrid, get your friends. Take all the children and Elder Gothi to the Great Hall and stay there, we need you to protect them in case the Outcasts break through our defense." He told firmly, which was answered with a nod by Astrid, before they ran out of the house to do what they need to do.

"Vikings of Berk!" Stoick's booming voice rang as strong as a thunder as he stood halfway from his house to the rest of the houses, he got the people's attention right away, "Astrid saw the Outcasts heading for us! Get yourselves ready for a war!" He commanded. He was grateful that his people would listen to his command without questioning, or he wouldn't be able to explain why Astrid could see the Outcasts coming before Mulch and Bucket, who were on watch duty, could see them first.

XXXXX

"Come on, guys!" Astrid yelled as she found her friends, "Gather the children! We need to take them and Elder Gothi to the Great Hall!".

"Why must we do that?" Snotlout protested.

"I want to fight the Outcasts too!" Ruffnut complained.

"Yeah!" Tuffnut agreed, "I'm the most dangerous weapon in the world, I should be out there and fight the Outcasts!".

"Chief's order." Astrid answered shortly before walking away, "Let's go!" She snapped when the others, save for Fishlegs, didn't follow her lead.

They scrambled after her immediately.

What happened after that was kind of a blur, everything happened so fast and so chaotic that she couldn't remember how exactly it happened, but she was sure as hell was angered and scared at the same time.

The Outcast had arrived some time after she managed to get all the children inside the Great Hall, the battle cry that Stoick and the other Berkians let out was enough clue for her to know that. She and the other trainees were watching through the window, so they could be ready if the Outcasts found them while making sure the other children and the Elder wouldn't be seen from outside.

Astrid and the others then saw some of the Outcasts were heading their way, she and the others didn't know how they could passed the front row, but they were ready for battle. They would fight and protect the children and Elder Gothi since they were Vikings, and every Viking wouldn't back down from a battle to protect their people.

"Let's get out." Astrid took the role as the leader and ordered them, she then looked at the children inside, who were looking worried at them, "Children, lock the door as soon as we are out. Got it?".

"Okay, be careful, Big Sister." Elga, Astrid's 10 years old Little Sister, said determinedly to Astrid while gripping her own axe. She was a brave girl like Astrid and she also strong for her age, Astrid knew that her Sister would try to fight as well if needed.

"I will." Astrid promised before leading the others out, with Elga locking the door immediately, she then turned to the rest, "We need to make sure they won't get inside." She said seriously.

"They won't get pass us." Snotlout said boastfully, trying to impress Astrid again.

Astrid sighed and rolled her eyes, "Here they come." She growled as she gripped her axe as she saw the Outcasts within range, she then let out a battle cry and attacked them.

They fought against the Outcasts as fierce as an adult does, for a lot had happened in a year after Hiccup gone, they were trained to fight their enemies so they could protect their people, but even with their skill, they were still outnumbered. How the Outcasts could get so many people on their side and how they could get pass Stoick and the rest were beyond her, but she didn't care about it at the moment, what she did care about was that she might die any time soon.

It happened in the middle of the chaos, really. She was fighting against two Outcasts at the same time, she could hold her own better than the rest of the teens if she did say so herself, but then she found herself on her back and there were 4 Outcasts surrounding her.

"Astrid!" Snotlout cried out in panic before he grunted as he blocked an attack from one of the Outcasts.

"Heh, what do we have here?" One of them sneered.

"Should we take her with us?" Another man asked with an evil smirk, "We can find something useful for her to do".

"As if!" Astrid spat as she kicked the man nearest to her at the universal weakest point of men, causing the man to cry out in pain and collapse on his knee.

"You bitch!" They cursed at her and raised their axes to kill her.

That was when it happened.

Astrid was very sure that it would be her end, but a furious roar echoed in the air before a blast of fire hit two of them and thrown them backwards. Her eyes widened when Stormfly landed at the spot the two men stood before they got shot before turning around and knocked the other two away with her tail, "Stormfly . . ." She whispered as she stared at her dragon in disbelief, she would never thought that her dragon would come to her aid without being asked.

"Astrid!" Ruffnut got to her side and helped her up, "Are you okay?".

"Yeah." Astrid answered as she still looking at Stormfly, who went off to attack the rest of the Outcasts.

"Why would a Nadder helped you?" Ruffnut asked in confusion as she stared at Stormfly as well.

"Because she is a gentle dragon." Astrid said with a grin before her grin turned into an angry scowl when she saw one of the Outcasts sneak up on her dragon when she was occupied by another Outcast, "Oh no, you don't!" She cried out before running to her friend's aid and blocked the attack from the Outcast, "I won't let you harm her." She hissed dangerously as she glared at the Outcast, even though the man was taller than her, before she used all her strength and kicked the man away. Stormfly finished the job by shooting a fire blast at the man, who was lucky enough to block it with his shield, the man ran away immediately.

"Astrid?" Snotlout called her out as all of the Outcasts that attacked them either knocked out cold or ran away, "Why are you protecting that dragon?" He asked in confusion.

Astrid opened her mouth to answer before Stormfly's squawk caught her attention, she looked at her dragon to see her looking at the sky, she looked at the same direction and gasped in shock.

XXXXX

Around the dock, Stoick and Gobber were fighting back to back against the Outcasts. They had managed to knock out many of the Outcasts and heavily injured many more of them, they were like a whirlwind that would attack the Outcasts mercilessly if any of them were stupid enough to attack them, and they would attack the nearby Outcasts to help the others when they could.

It was long after the battle began that Stoick got separated from Gobber and found himself face to face with Alvin The Treacherous, the Chief of the Outcasts.

"Just give up, Stoick." Alvin sneered at Stoick as they clashed their axes, "We outnumbered you".

"I don't know how you can gather so many men, but I won't be a Viking if I give up so easily." Stoick said in anger before crying out loud while forcing Alvin to back off using his brute strength.

"DRAGON RAID!" A sudden yell caught their attention.

Both Alvin and Stoick looked up at the sky, they saw that a huge group of dragons were heading towards Berk. "Impossible." Stoick breathed out in disbelief.

A whole year had passed after he received the letter from Hiccup, and a whole year after Astrid informed them of what she had seen in the dragon nest, there wasn't a single dragon raid since then, leading him, Gobber, and Astrid to believe that Hiccup had succeed in stopping the war even if his life was the cost. They were sad and heartbroken, but at least Hiccup's death wasn't for nothing. Now, as he looked at the approaching group of dragons, Stoick felt really confused.

Not just Stoick though, all of Berkians were confused. While Stoick, Astrid, and Gobber know that Hiccup had killed the monster he called as Red Death to stop the dragon raids, the people of Berk didn't, so they were confused why the dragons would stopped raiding them out of the sudden like that.

Their confusion didn't stop at that, unfortunately.

The first time they were confused was when Stoick changed the tradition so the teens wouldn't need to kill a dragon in front of the village after they won Dragon Training, they didn't question it since they thought that the man was thinking about Hiccup when he made that decision. Once again they were made confused when Stoick decided that he wouldn't hunt for the nest anymore, but again they didn't think much about it since Stoick said that he had lost interest with the nest, saying that he wanted to focus to protect the village more than going into a hunt that would be a complete waste of time, they could understand his reasons. Then, they were consumed by confusion once again when Astrid suddenly quit Dragon Training, they knew that Astrid was the best among the trainees, so they couldn't understand why Astrid would quit like that when the girl once said that she wanted to be the best Dragon Slayer to regain her family's honor.

Some time passed without much of an event after that, so they thought that everything had finally returned to normal, but fate had decided that they need to be drowned in confusion again. It happened out of a sudden, Stoick suddenly buried himself in his work, all of them could see that the Chief wasn't giving it his all even though they didn't know why. Gobber also confused them when he suddenly locked himself in the forge all day, his work was abandoned and the man would often be found staring off into thin air while having a drink on the Great Hall at night, and Astrid joined the two in confusing them all when the girl spent more of her time in the forest than with the other teens like usual.

Dragon raids, while it had stopped for a whole year, had never happened in the middle of the day, always at night. So now, a whole year after the raids had stopped, they were hit by confusion again when they saw the group of dragons heading for them, in the middle of the day too.

Stoick was beginning to get worried. He wanted to believe that his son's death wasn't for nothing, that Hiccup had managed to stop the war before he died, but the sight of dragons heading for Berk couldn't help but make him worried that Hiccup was wrong, that the dragons would keep attacking them even after the Red Death had died. Although, he knew that it didn't make sense, since if that was the case, the raids would keep going on in the last year, there's no reason for the dragons to stop coming.

Stoick was pulled from his thought when he heard Alvin's laugh.

"Looks like the Gods are smiling at me, Stoick." Alvin said confidently with a laugh, "Dragon raids at the same time as we attack you, today will be the day you are destroyed." He then laughed maniacally.

Stoick growled in anger and opened his mouth to retort when he heard it, a high pitched whistle that only one dragon could make during a raid.

"Night Fury!"

"Get down!"

**_BOOM!_**

The Night Fury had just dive bombed and shot one of the Outcast's ships, the one at the far left, destroying and burning it to ash in an instant. Three more dragons followed the Night Fury's lead and destroyed another three of the Outcast's ships, a Monstrous Nightmare shot at the one at the far right, a Deadly Nadder shot at the one next to the one destroyed by the Nightmare, and then a Skrill destroyed the ship next to the one the Night Fury destroyed by it's lightning.

It was a shock that a Skrill was among them, since Skrill was as rare and as legendary as a Night Fury – and it was the second most dangerous dragon in the whole archipelago right after the Night Fury – but the Skrill wasn't the one that caught Stoick's undivided attention. His eyes were locked on the Night Fury as the black dragon climbed up into the clouds as the other three dragons returned to the flock. It was only a split instant and he couldn't be sure since the dragon was far away, but Stoick was certain that he saw a person on the dragon's back.

Stoick's attention then drawn away from the Night Fury when a green Terrible Terror fly in front of his face, he blinked when the dragon dropped something before flying away. He looked down to see what was it that the Terror dropped and found that it was a medallion along with a piece of paper, he picked them up and turned them around to see that a Berk's crest was engraved on the medallion and a short message on the paper.

Leave the rest to me, Dad.

XXXXX

To be continued . . .

XXXXX

Froim : Please review ^ ^


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

* * *

**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

* * *

_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_[Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

Letter

**Emphasis**

_**Dangerous Tone**_

* * *

Leave the rest to me, Dad.

Such a short and simple words, but Stoick's eyes widened as he read them. _Hiccup_, He thought as he looked at the black dot against the cloud, a grin slowly made it's way to Stoick's face as realization to what was happening dawned on him, his Son was alive.

"What the hell!" Alvin cursed as he saw 4 of his ships destroyed in less than a minute, catching Stoick's attention.

He smirked at the Outcast Chief, "You're wrong, Alvin." He said confidently as he put the medallion and letter into his pocket, "The Gods aren't smiling at you today, but at us, Berkians." He calmly looked at the dragons, considering that Hiccup told him to leave the rest to the boy, he figured that the dragons were on Hiccup's side.

"What are you saying, Stoick?" Alvin asked him with a scowl on his face, "And why are you smirking like that? Do you think you win?!".

"Victory is ours, Alvin, because someone had come to aid Berk." Stoick answered with a confident smirk before looking at his people, refraining from saying Hiccup's name or their relationship to lower any possibility of Hiccup being targeted by the Outcasts later. "RETREAT!" He yelled on top as his lungs before he made his way back to the village, breaking through any Outcast who dared to block his way, leaving Alvin to stare incredulously at Stoick's retreating back.

XXXXX

Up above the clouds, Hiccup looked down at Berk and saw that his Dad, who stood out so much with his big body and red hair, and the other Berkians had retreated to the village. He smirked and patted Toothless's head, "Come on, bud." He said calmly, "It's time to reward those Outcasts for attacking Berk with a rain of fireballs".

_"I've been waiting for you to say that, Hiccup."_ Toothless said with a smirk, though for other people the sound that he made was only some croons and purr.

A whole year was a long time, long enough for many things to happen – even though Hiccup spent the first 3 and a half month half sleeping – and one among those many things that had happened was Hiccup finding himself to be able to understand Dragonese even though he couldn't speak it, just like how dragons could understand Norse but couldn't speak it.

Toothless and Hiccup pulled into a dive and aimed to shoot at the space between Berkians and Outcasts as a warning on the Outcast's part, while a sharp whistle was made as they dove as Toothless's wings cut through the air, the signature of a Night Fury's attack. He shot his plasma blast on the ground before the rest of the dragons shot their own fireballs at the surrounding of the Outcasts, stopping the Outcasts on their tracks and creating a thick smoke of dust.

"Do you think that's enough?" Hiccup asked Toothless as they circled around to make sure they didn't miss any Outcast.

_"If those Outcasts are as stubborn as your usual type of Vikings, then no."_ Toothless answered as they finally stopped circling around and just hovered 10 meters above the village between the Outcasts and Berkians, to show the Outcasts that they had to break through them first if they want to attack the people of Berk.

"Well, it won't hurt to try first." Hiccup said back with a shrug before focusing ahead of him while pulling his bow from Toothless's saddle and pulled out an arrow from the red quiver on the left side of the saddle, "A fire, please." He asked as he leaned forward and showed the head of the arrow to Toothless, Toothless silently shot a really small blue fireball at the arrow to light it, "Thanks".

_"You're welcome."_ Toothless said with a smirk, already knowing what Hiccup's plan was.

The smoke cleared and they could see the Outcasts coughing from inhaling the smoke of dust, "What's the meaning of this?" Alvin growled in anger as the man stared at Hiccup, "And who the hell are you?!" He was shocked to see Hiccup on top of a dragon, the one species that he had never seen before, but he was too angry to think about it.

Hiccup smirked behind his mask, _Of course he can't recognize me,_ He thought in amusement as he aimed his arrow at the Outcast Chief, _I doubt that my own Dad can recognize me in this attire if not for my letter_.

Hiccup was wearing an armor of thick leather with complicate design all over his body*, a leather boot covered his right foot while his left leg ended just a bit below his knee and continued by a specially made metal foot, and a mask with Night Fury as it's design covered his face. Giving him an intimidating appearance, but if people ever thought that Hiccup wore it to scare people off because he couldn't fight, they would regret ever thinking about it.

**(*AN : Hiccup's armor is like the one he wears in HTTYD 2)**

"That shot earlier was only a warning, Alvin." Hiccup said calmly through his mask, the mask slightly muffled his voice so it wasn't really recognizable unless he was yelling. He chose to ignore the second question and just silently aimed his arrow at Alvin's shoulder and not anywhere vital since he wasn't the type to kill if he had another choice.

"Who are you?!" Alvin demanded again when Hiccup didn't answer him the first time.

"I have no obligation to answer your question, Alvin, and therefore I won't tell you who I am." Hiccup said cheekily but with some seriousness in his voice, "Now, leave Berk this instant".

"Like hell I will listen to you!" Alvin roared furiously, forgetting about the fact that there were so many dragons surrounding him and his people.

"Ah, that's not good." Hiccup said calmly before releasing his fire arrow, hitting Alvin's left shoulder just as Hiccup wanted. The pain from the fire arrow wasn't what the man had to worry about though, because as soon as Hiccup released his arrow, Toothless shot at the man's armor which caused the man to get thrown backwards while the rest of the dragons followed his example and gave their own shots at the other Outcast's armor. They could easily tell that the dragons didn't serious when they shot at the Outcasts, for the attack was too weak for a dragon their sizes. "This is your last warning, Alvin." Hiccup announced once Alvin and his people got back up to their feet with a grunt of pain, "Leave Berk this instant or we will destroy you like we did to your ships".

Alvin growled furiously as he finally remembered that he and his people were surrounded by a huge flock of dragons, all of them ready to attack when Hiccup told them to, though Alvin didn't know that the boy in front of him was actually Hiccup. What Alvin knows was only that there's a boy in front of him, who ride on a black dragon and could command the other dragons at his will, and that information alone was enough to spark fear into his heart, which was quite a feat since Alvin was normally fearless.

Alvin was furious, but he couldn't do anything but to retreat. "This isn't over, Dragon Boy." He growled at Hiccup, "I will come back, you hear? And you will be begging for my mercy then." He then looked passed Hiccup to Stoick, who was smirking at Alvin, "I will definitely destroy you and this village, Stoick, mark my words!" He yelled to the Chief of Berk before turning around and dramatically made his way to his two remaining ships, the rest of the Outcasts following him.

Hiccup watched silently as the Outcasts left before Toothless landed, the other dragons soon landed one by one in front of him and his dragon, with Flarestorm (the Monstrous Nightmare), Skyring (the Deadly Nadder), Rainleaf (the Changewing), Bonecrusher (the Boneknapper), and Thundress (the Skrill) stood in front of the rest of the dragons. He felt it more than see when Sharpshot (the Terrible Terror) landed on his shoulder, he then waited until all of the dragons had landed before getting off from Toothless's back.

The time has come for him to face his Dad and the rest of his tribe.

Just as he turned around, he was greeted by the sight of Vikings, with the exception of his Dad and Gobber, all pointed their weapons at him and his dragons. "Who are you?" Spitelout, Stoick's Brother as well as Hiccup's Uncle, demanded as he looked cautiously at Hiccup. The boy might had helped them, but he didn't know that the boy in front of him was Hiccup and would do nothing to harm them, so he was being cautious in case the boy would turn on them.

Before Hiccup could answer Spitelout's question though, a thin man from the crowd cut in, "Who cares who he is!" The old man was Mildew the Unpleasant, the most annoying person in Berk, "That guy allies himself with the dragons! We should kill him for his treachery!".

Some of the Vikings roared their agreement, it seems that they forgot about the huge number of dragons behind the boy and the fact that Hiccup was standing calmly beside a black dragon that they had never seen before, not to mention the Boneknapper and the Skrill who stood just a few feet away from Hiccup and Toothless.

Toothless and the dragons behind the pair let out a deep growl and all of them get into defensive position, ready to protect Hiccup if the Vikings attack the boy. Hiccup simply placed his left palm on Toothless's head to calm him down and raised his right hand to the side, to tell the other dragons that they shouldn't attack unless they got attacked first.

"QUIET!" Stoick roared at them, causing them to fell into a shocked silence, they were shocked that Stoick would stop them while normally he would be the one leading the attack. "Don't attack him." He said sternly at them before turning to look at Hiccup, "Hiccup." He said softly as he looked at the masked boy, whom he was certain to be Hiccup from the message earlier and the fact that one of the tail fins the Night Fury has was different in color than the real one, just like the drawing on the wall of Hiccup's work place in the forge. His softly spoken words earned many shocked gasps from the Vikings of Berk, but he ignored them and just stared at his Son.

"Dad." Hiccup answered him before slowly removing his mask, revealing the face that the Berkians thought would never see again after the boy's disappearance for more than a year. He locked gaze with his Dad, "Long time no see, Dad." He said with a small smile, "I hope you have read my letter and know the reason of why I left Berk without telling you or anyone else".

"Aye, I have, and I understand your reason." Stoick answered as he found himself awe struck by the confident and authority in Hiccup's voice and eyes as he spoke those words, "I have to say that I couldn't be more proud of you than when I read it." He then slowly made his way to his Son as to not spook the Night Fury whom he know to be very cautious from the way the dragon watched his every movement, he stopped in front of Hiccup and smiled, "I'm so proud of you, Son. You have been treated badly by us, bullied by the teens and given cold shoulder by the villagers, and yet you still try your best to help and protect your people in your own way. Even if you have to break our rules and traditions by doing so".

"You knew of their treatment to me?" Hiccup asked in shock. He would never think that his Dad knew about it, and he was also surprised when he heard his Dad said that he was proud of Hiccup.

"Nothing happened in this village without me knowing about it, Hiccup, and I'm ashamed to say that I didn't do anything to stop them." Stoick said sadly and seriously before his eyes darting to Toothless, "Okay, almost nothing." He corrected himself as he remembered that he didn't know a thing about the Night Fury until he read Hiccup's letter.

Hiccup gave a short chuckle before smiling a small smile at Stoick, "Let's talk about this later in our home, Dad." He suggested lightly, happy that his Dad didn't just banish him from Berk for befriending dragons like what he had feared, "For the time being though, I think we need to explain everything to them." He motioned to the group of Vikings who had been gaping at them like a fish out of water.

"I agree." Stoick said with a nod of agreement as he looked behind his shoulder to his people, he then looked at the dragons behind Hiccup and the Night Fury warily, "I think you need to send them off first though, I don't think the people would be comfortable knowing there are so many dragons in the village, and to tell you the truth, so am I".

"I guess it's understandable, this is all so new to you." Hiccup nodded back at him before turning around at the dragons behind him, "Everyone, thank you for your help." He smiled at them, "You can return to the Nest now".

_"Feel free to visit us anytime, our two Alphas."_ A big red Nightmare named Sparker from the flock said to him and Toothless with a dragon version of a bow, he was the one chosen to lead the flock of dragons in the Nest since Hiccup and Toothless couldn't possibly do it on their own as well, they have their own flock to lead.

_"Please don't hesitate to ask if you need our help again, dear Alphas."_ A purple Nightmare beside Sparker said softly with a bow as well, her name was Darkflame and she was Sparker's Mate.

Hiccup nodded at them and watched as almost all of the dragons flew back to the Nest, leaving only his flock on the ground, waiting for him to tell them where to go for the time being. He looked at his Dad, "Is it alright if they stay here?" He asked as he motioned to the remaining dragons.

"Why?" Stoick asked in confusion as he looked at the dragons warily, mostly at the Skrill, the Changewing, and the Boneknapper since he had never fight against those type of dragons before, "I don't see any reason why you want them here, you dragon is that Night Fury, right?".

"Toothless is my partner, yes." Hiccup explained to him calmly, "These dragons are my flock, and like Toothless, they are also my best friends and already like a family".

"Those beasts will destroy our village if you let them stay, Stoick!" Mildew cried out again.

_"Beasts?!"_ Toothless snarled as he bare his teeth towards the skinny old Viking, _"If anyone a beast here, it's you, Viking!"_ He had heard many things about what they did to Hiccup in the past, he wouldn't forgive them for all the pain they caused his Brother.

_"Yeah!"_ The rest of the dragons snarled as well. They also had heard the story about Hiccup from either Toothless or Hiccup himself, and they were also angry towards the Vikings for treating Hiccup so badly. Hiccup was a hatchling in their eyes, and all hatchling should be treated with care and gentleness, not by cold shoulder and cruelty.

The Vikings jumped and get their weapons ready when they heard the dragons snarled at them, but Hiccup merely raised a hand at the dragons and they stopped snarling, shocking the Vikings yet again.

"Calm down, you lot." Hiccup said to his dragons calmly as he looked at them, "You can't blame them for being uneasy around dragons, the war had been going on for 300 years until all they know about dragons are that you are dangerous and will kill any human on sight." He explained to them, although he knew that being called as a beast wasn't the only thing that angered them, "Go and stay in the forest for the time being, I will see you later".

_"I'm staying with you."_ Toothless said sternly.

"Of course." Hiccup whispered fondly, already used with his scaly Brother's protective attitude, before looking at the rest of his dragons, "Go on." He said softly. They hesitated, but finally agreed and flew to the forest reluctantly, they were still worried that the Vikings would hurt Hiccup again, either it's physically or verbally. "You too, Sharpshot." Hiccup said as he flicked his index finger at Sharpshot's head when the dragon didn't leave with the others, earning a yelp from the tiny dragon before the said dragon flew away with an unhappy grumble.

"How can you order them around like that?" Gobber asked in shock and a bit of awe.

"I'm not ordering them around, but I will explain it in the Great Hall." Hiccup answered simply before walking to the Great Hall, with Toothless followed him silently while glaring daggers at the Vikings.

Stoick and Gobber were the first to follow Hiccup, the others were following more slowly since they didn't trust Hiccup and Toothless. The walk to the Great Hall was silent and filled with tension, Hiccup and Toothless could feel the tension in the air and grew tense as well. From how Stoick acted earlier, Hiccup knew that he could trust his Dad to not attack him, and he trusted Gobber to listen to him first before judging, but he was afraid that the other Vikings would do things the Viking way, attack first and ask later.

They entered the Great Hall, with Hiccup, Stoick and Gobber at the front, up on the platform over looking everyone, while the rest stood in the audience. "Is everyone here?" Hiccup asked to break the silence, "I would rather explain this once".

"Now that you mention it . . ." Gobber looked at Snotlout, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs, who stood at the front of the crowds so they could see better and were sweating while looking both nervous and worried, "Where are Astrid and Ruffnut?".

"Uh, Astrid is . . . um . . ." Fishlegs tried to explain but he was too nervous to do it right.

"Astrid was kidnapped by a Nadder!" Snotlout blurted out.

"What?!" Stoick, Gobber, Elga, and Keila, Astrid's Mother, cried out in shock and horror while Hiccup looked at Snotlout in confusion, his main flock and the dragons from the Nest were with him when they dealt with the Outcasts, so he was sure his dragons wouldn't have the time to kidnap Astrid.

"And Ruffnut jumped on the Nadder to try and help Astrid!" Tuffnut said in annoyance, he wanted to do some action too.

Silence . . .

"WHAT?!" More of the Vikings cried out now.

XXXXX

To be continued . . .

XXXXX

Froim : Please review ^ ^


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

* * *

**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

* * *

_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_[Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

Letter

**Emphasis**

_**Dangerous Tone**_

* * *

"A minute, please." Hiccup tried to say but his voice was drowned in the panicked voices of the Vikings, "Hello?" He tried again, a bit louder this time, but the Vikings just ignored him. Toothless, who was standing just beside him, chuckled in amusement at the panic that the Vikings shown, earning a glare from Hiccup.

"QUIET!" Stoick roared after he had had enough of his people acting like a bunch of headless chickens, the crowd slowly grew quiet and he looked at all of them with narrowed eyes, "We are Vikings, not a bunch of sheeps!" He snapped at them before looking at the teens, "Tell me, did the dragon take Astrid and Ruffnut away from Berk? As in away from the island?"

"No." Fishlegs squeaked, "They were heading for the forest".

"How did she get kidnapped?" Hiccup asked him.

"Why do you need to ask?!" Keila snapped, "It's your doing, right?! You told your dragon to kidnap Astrid!".

"Now, why would I do that? I have no reason to kidnap Astrid." Hiccup answered calmly, "I asked Fishlegs how Astrid get kidnapped is so I can figure out why the Nadder took Astrid in the first place." He explained before looking at Fishlegs, "So?".

"Uh . . ." Fishlegs fidgeted as he became the center of attention, "Well, we were fighting against the Outcasts outside the Great Hall when Astrid fell to the ground and surrounded by the Outcasts." He began to explain, earning gasps of horror from Keila and Elga, "One of the Outcasts was about to kill Astrid when two of them got blasted by a fireball, then a Nadder landed near Astrid before knocking the other two Outcasts away with it's tail".

"That's when we saw the dragons coming for Berk." Snotlout said with a scowl on his face, "We thought that it was a raid, and before we know what happened, the Nadder suddenly head butted Astrid until she somehow landed on the dragon's back before the dragon took off".

"Ruffnut was near Astrid, so she quickly jumped and grabbed one of the Nadder's legs." Tuffnut finished for them.

"That dragon will pay for kidnapping my daughter." Keila snarled angrily.

"And my daughter." Emma, Ruffnut and Tuffnut's Mother, hissed in anger.

Stoick and Gobber exchanged glance, they weren't exactly sure whether the Nadder was Astrid's Nadder or not, since they weren't there to see, so they didn't know what to do or say. Stoick then noticed Fishlegs's expression, "Something else you want to say, Fishlegs?" He asked as he focused on the big boy.

"Uh, I kind of think that I heard Astrid yelled something when she was taken away." Fishlegs admitted, Stoick raised an eyebrow at him, "She yelled something like 'Stormfly', I think she was in so much shock that she thought that she was flying because a storm carried her".

Stoick and Gobber visibly relaxed when they heard Stormfly's name, the Nadder was Astrid's so they knew the dragon wouldn't harm the girl. Stormfly had taken Astrid to the Nest and back, without a single scratch on the girl, so they knew that Stormfly could be trusted with Astrid. Not to mention that Astrid told them that, according to the book Hiccup left, dragons would protect their Riders or anyone they care about and would be furious if their Rider or loved ones get hurt.

"The lass is fine." Gobber said out loud, figuring that since Hiccup shown up with his dragons and they were about to explain everything, might as well tell them about Astrid and Stormfly, "That Nadder won't harm her, and I'm sure Astrid will make sure that Ruffnut is alright as well".

"How can you be so sure?" Keila demanded, it was clear that she was worried about her daughter.

Gobber looked at Hiccup, "Let's just say that Astrid and that Nadder is like Hiccup and the Night Fury." He said with a grin on his face, his words causing the whole room to fell in silence, clearly shocked that Astrid allied herself with a Dragon.

Hiccup's eyes widened, "They're bonded?" He asked in surprise, "How?".

"Your book." Astrid's voice came from the doorway, they looked at the door and saw Astrid standing there with a dazed Ruffnut beside her, and a Deadly Nadder behind her. She walked calmly to the platform while dragging the still dazed Ruffnut along with her, with the Nadder followed her while casting cautious stare on the Vikings, "You dropped it in the Cove." She said as she pulled a book from a bag that she started carrying around since last year and offered it to Hiccup, "I read everything and tried it, and I must say I'm impressed with you." She smirked at Hiccup who was gaping at her.

"How did you find the Cove?" Hiccup asked in surprise as he took his book from Astrid's hand.

"I followed you the day you get chosen to kill the Nightmare." Astrid said with a sheepish smile, "I saw you flew away on Toothless, I thought he kidnapped you but then I found your book and know that it wasn't the case".

Hiccup was speechless as he stared at Astrid, still couldn't believe that Astrid was talking so casually to him like when they were friends in the past, let alone saying that she was impressed with him.

"Astrid!" Keila called out as she ran to her daughter, ignoring Stormfly who grew tense at her approach, "Oh, you are alright!".

"Stormfly won't hurt me." Astrid assured her Mother, "I don't know why she took me away so suddenly, but I think it had something to do with the dragons".

_"I thought it was a raid."_ Hiccup heard Stormfly explained to Astrid, though all the others heard was a squawking sound only, _"I was too shocked seeing such a large group that I forgot the wicked queen had died, I just wanted to protect you"_.

_How come she know that the Red Death had died?_ Hiccup asked curiously as he looked at the Nadder, _I didn't know that news could travel so fast_. He then looked at Astrid and decided that he would help Stormfly explained her intention to Astrid, "She just wanted to protect you, she thought that it was a raid when she saw the dragons." He told the girl.

Astrid raised an eyebrow, "How do you know that?" She asked curiously.

"She said it." Hiccup answered as he motioned at Stormfly.

_"You can understand me?!"_ Stormfly squawked in shock.

"Yes, I can." Hiccup answered her before looking at Astrid, "Before you ask, yes, I can understand them." He gestured to the dragons.

"How?" Astrid could only asked that, she couldn't believe that Hiccup understand what the dragons said.

Hiccup cleared his throat, "Well, it's a long story, and now that you are here, I will explain everything." He said before turning his attention to the confused Vikings, he opened his mouth to explain before he realized that he didn't know where to began, "Uh, where should I start?" He asked himself, not expecting for anyone to answer him.

"How about the reason you ran away?" Stoick suggested as he saw Hiccup having difficulty to decide.

"Good idea." Hiccup agreed before looking at the crowd again, "Well, I have two reasons of why I left." He began as he crossed his arms, "The first reason is because I wouldn't kill a dragon, so when Gothi chose me to be the one to kill the Nightmare, I ran away to avoid it. The second is because I want to find out why the dragons raided Berk, I want to stop this war between humans and dragons".

Gothi looked at him seriously before began writing something on the ground with her staff, Gobber came over and looked at what she wrote, "Gothi want to know if you have something to do with the absence of dragons for this past year." He told the boy.

Hiccup nodded, "You can say that I have stopped the raid." He explained to the rest, earning shocked gasps and incredulous looks from the Vikings, all except Astrid, Stoick, Gobber, and Gothi, "There's this big dragon . . . and when I said big what I mean is extremely big, until it can stomp on you all with you pointing your weapons upwards and still wouldn't feel a thing. This dragon, which I call as Red Death, enslaved the dragons. It forced the dragons to raid the humans and brought it food or the dragons would be the food, so once I killed it, the dragons have no reason to raid humans anymore. Why would they keep raiding humans and risk getting killed anyway? The fishes in the sea are free for the taking".

"You said it as if this dragon is real." Mildew sneered, "And dragons are mindless beasts, there's no way they could think logically".

"Oh, you think they are mindless? Can't think logically?" Hiccup asked back hotly, he hated it when people call his dragon friends as mindless and stupid, "Then tell me. Why would Toothless, the Night Fury, only destroyed the catapults and never steal any live stocks during the raid in the past? Why is there not a single raid after I killed the Red Death? And why, in their own language, they can talk to each other like humans?".

"Simple." Mildew sneered confidently, "That unholy beast destroyed the catapults because it what a beast do, destroying stuffs. There isn't a single raid after you kill this imaginary monster of yours because you told them not to, you controls them all along, that's why there isn't a single raid after you left. And what you said about them talking to each other is bullshit, you make it up".

The dragons growled angrily, they couldn't accept what the man said, not only that Mildew said that all dragons do was destroying stuffs and they couldn't think and communicate to each other like humans do, but the skinny old Viking said that the wicked queen was only imaginary. Their centuries long of suffering because of the monster was real!

Hiccup narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to point out the hole in the old man's theory, but Astrid beat him to it. "First, and I don't just say this to Mildew but all of you, the Red Death was real!" She snapped at them man before glaring at the Vikings, daring them to argue with her, "I have been to the Nest and saw the skeleton myself. You all know that I'm not someone who lies, what I say is the truth." She then focused her attention to Mildew, "And you said that all dragons do is destroying things and can't think logically? Then what these two dragons beside us do?" She demanded as she gestured to the dragons that did nothing but glared and growled at Mildew, they didn't do anything like destroying everything within their sight, "Are they destroying things right now? Are they not glaring and growling at you for that nonsense you said? They are intelligent beings! They can understand what we said, what we do! They are not mindless!".

The hall was silent after Astrid's outburst, they couldn't believe what Astrid said, but it's true that Astrid was never one to lie, she always say the truth no matter the situation, unless her life was threatened and her answer could lead to a mass destruction if she tell the truth.

"Um, how about when Hiccup said that dragons talk to each other like humans, but with their own language?" Fishlegs asked nervously.

"You also said that dragons can understand what we are talking, can you prove it, lass?" Keila looked at her daughter sternly, she didn't believe that her own daughter was siding with dragons after what had happened to her husband.

"Well . . ." Astrid trailed off as she thought how she could show them that dragons are intelligent creatures before an idea came to her mind, "Stormfly, shoot your spikes at the wall behind us, girl." She told her dragon softly, "In a half circle, with a space between them".

_"I don't know what you are getting at, but fine."_ Stormfly said in confusion but did as Astrid told her to do, she raised her tail and take aim. She moved her tail in a half circle as she shot her spikes, causing the spikes to pierce the wall in a half circle and with a space between the spikes.

"See?" Astrid asked them smugly, "Stormfly understand what I said and do exactly as I told her to do".

"Well, you might already train it in the past." Spitelout told her with a frown, "That doesn't mean it understand us, you just control it to do it again".

"Don't call her 'it'!" Astrid said angrily, "And I don't control her, we are friends!".

"Astrid." Hiccup called her to get her attention, she looked at him while still huffing in anger, "Let me handle this." He said softly, he didn't want to be the receiving end of Astrid's wrath.

Astrid huffed and crossed her arms, "Fine." She said with a nod.

"Okay." Hiccup began, "You all think that dragons are mindless creatures, so they don't understand you. How about this . . ." His looked at Keila, "Why don't you go out there with Stormfly or Toothless and tell them something that you are sure I won't know? They will tell me what you said and I will say it out loud so you can confirm it".

"Do you think I will be stupid enough to go out there alone with a dragon?" Keila demanded, "The beast will kill me!".

"That's a good idea, Hiccup." Astrid said as her face alighted with excitement, "That way they all will know that the dragons understand us, but let's go with another dragon that my Mom know she can handle so she will agree." She said with a grin before running to the door and yelled out to the sky, "Rivera! Come here!" Nothing happened at first, but then a bluish green Terrible Terror came and landed on Astrid's outstretched arm. Astrid went back to the platform with the dragon and showed the tiny dragon to her Mother, "You can't say that a Terror will kill you, right?" She asked smugly.

Keila looked at the tiny dragon and nodded, "I can just kill it if it attack me." She said reluctantly, still uneasy with the idea of having to talk to a dragon.

"That's settled then." Astrid said excitedly before looking at her little Dragon, "Rivera, you go with my Mom-" She gestured to her Mother as she said that, "-here and listen to what she will say to you, then get back here and tell Hiccup-" Here she gestured to Hiccup with her hand, "-what she told you, he said he can understand what dragons say so don't worry, and these stubborn Vikings will know that you understand us. She won't kill you if you don't attack her first, okay?".

_"Sure thing, Astrid, as long as she won't kill me."_ Rivera answered cheerfully before flying to Astrid's Mom, Keila took a step back from the flying dragon before hesitantly offering her hand so the dragon could perch on her hand.

The woman and little dragon walked out of the Great Hall silently, they returned a minute later and Rivera immediately flew to Hiccup, who silently offered his arm so the dragon could land. _"She was ranting at first about how pointless talking to me is since I won't understand her, what a rude woman Astrid has, but then she said this, and I quote, 'If you really understand me and Hiccup can understand you, tell him that Astrid has a crush on him. He sure as hell wouldn't know that.' "_ Rivera said to him before flying to Astrid and perched herself on the girl's shoulder.

Hiccup blinked as he stared at the dragon, a blush appeared on his face as he thought about what he had heard, that Astrid has a crush on him.

"Well?" Keila demanded with crossed arms, "Let's see if what you said about the dragons being able to understand us and you being able to understand them is true." A smirk on her face.

Hiccup looked at Keila, "She said you were ranting about how pointless talking to her is since she won't understand you and . . ." He blushed and approached her, "Do you really think that Astrid has a crush on me?" He asked hesitantly.

Keila leaned back in surprise, "Unbelievable." She muttered in awe, "You really can understand them and they can understand us".

"Yes." Hiccup nodded before his blush deepened, "So . . .?".

Keila's smirk was back, "I don't _think_ that Astrid has a crush on you, Hiccup, I _know_ so." She whispered back before narrowing her eyes, "Hurt her and you will face my wrath, understood?" She hissed dangerously, earning many rapid nods from Hiccup, "Good." She said happily before looking at the other Vikings, "It's true, the dragon understood what I said to it and Hiccup can understand them." She said out loud to them.

The hall was filled with whispers of disbelief after that before Stoick told them to be quiet, again. "Hiccup." Stoick called his Son, "Why don't you tell them from the beginning? How you met Toothless and how you found out about this Red Death? I think they are willing to believe you now".

Hiccup nodded in understanding, he then told them how he really shot a Night Fury that night a year ago, how he went to Raven's Point and found Toothless but couldn't kill him then released him. The Vikings were horrified that Hiccup would free a dragon that could easily kill him, so he told them that Toothless didn't hurt him, only screaming his ear off and flew away. He then told them how he returned to the forest after Gobber told him and the other teens that dragons will always go for the kill, how he met Toothless again but again Toothless didn't kill him.

He continued with how he made Toothless's prosthetic fin and the trials and errors as he tried to get Toothless back to the sky before finally could fly with him as if they were one, then he told them how he tried everything he found out about dragons like their dislike of eels, their love of Dragon Nip, and so on with the dragons from the Arena. He told them that when he was chosen to kill the Nightmare, he knew that he wouldn't do it and decided to run away while trying to find out why the dragons raided them, then Toothless took him to the Nest to show him the reason.

He then told them about how he met Flarestorm, Rainleaf, Bonecrusher, Skyring, and Sharpshot. The Vikings couldn't believe his luck when he told them about his meeting with Bonecrusher, and he had a hard time believing it as well, who else in this world that just happened to fall in front of a Boneknapper and a certain bone that the big dragon was after happened to be stuck in his coat? No one, as far as he know.

"So, after about two months I left Berk, I decided that I have gained enough dragon friends to help me, so we went to the Nest to kill the Red Death." Hiccup told his audience, who were captivated by his story, aside from Mildew of course.

"How do you kill something as big as a mountain?" Ruffnut asked with awe struck expression, "I mean, even if you had a Night Fury and other strong dragons with you, they are still smaller than this monster, right?".

"Well, how a Viking kill a dragon?" Gobber asked back, "We are smaller than dragons, but we can kill them. Every dragon has a blind spot that we can take advantage from and this monster should be the same, and with a Night Fury and Boneknapper on his side, Hiccup can kill this monster".

"Unfortunately, Gobber, this monster wasn't exactly a dragon." Hiccup explained to him, "This thing had 6 eyes even though they were small, large nostrils that can smell us easily, and it's whole body was basically it's weapon. This thing didn't have a blind spot either".

Gobber and many other Vikings paled, "So, how did you kill it?" Astrid asked with a mix of interest and worry.

"Well, my plan that time was to observe first, so after we break the mountain and the dragons in the Nest flew out, I told Bonecrusher and Rainleaf to guide them to a nearby forest away from any villages, then Skyring and Flarestorm helped me distracted it while I and Toothless searching for a blind spot or any weakness we can use." Hiccup said as he recalled what had happened as he leaned on his dragon. Since the Vikings were so captivated with the story, Toothless decided that he didn't need to be so tense and curled himself around Hiccup. "After Skyring and Flarestorm reached their shot limit, I told them to leave the rest to me and Toothless. But as I already said, this thing didn't have a blind spot, so I took advantage of Toothless's territory and made it kind of blind".

"Kind of blind?" Stoick asked curiously.

"Toothless is a Night Fury and his territory is in darkness where he can't be seen." Hiccup explained to his Dad, "I and Toothless took advantage of this and hid in the dark clouds, so the monster couldn't see us and kind of blind to where we were. The Red Death didn't has a visible weakness due to it's hard armor, but that didn't mean it didn't has any weakness. As you say, a downed dragon is a dead dragon, this information led me to direct Toothless attack on the monster's wings, we couldn't pierce the wings but we managed to weaken the membranes so it would be easily ripped apart. My plan was to make it dive after me and pulled up at the last minute so the monster wouldn't survive the fall if it couldn't use it's wings, but the problem was Toothless's prosthetic tail fin was caught on fire when the monster shot it's fire everywhere".

He then told them about how Toothless shot his plasma blast into the Red Death's mouth just as it was about to fire, causing the monster to explode inside out, and how he and Toothless managed to escape from the fire only to crash into the monster's tail when Toothless's fin go dead and he was tore from Toothless's back. The Vikings were as white as the wall when he told them how he nearly fell right into the flame, but then Toothless saved him in time.

"I didn't know what exactly happened after that, Toothless don't like to talk about it and the other dragons don't know what had happened, but I woke up 3 and a half months later on a bed with a peg leg and a sudden understanding of dragon language or Dragonese." Hiccup showed them his metal leg, "The original one was a normal peg leg that couldn't be used to control Toothless's tail fin and I won't have that, so I made this instead".

"Wait, lad." Emma interrupted, "How come you can survive a coma for 3 and half months? I'm a Healer so I know it's impossible".

"I'm not exactly in a coma." Hiccup told her with a shrug, "My body was awake but my mind wasn't, the Healer in the village I woke up in would help me eat and drink or do private stuff in the bathroom but I didn't do anything on my own, I was awake and yet still asleep. That's what my flock told me".

"How do you suddenly understand Dragonese then?" Astrid asked curiously, "Do you think it's possible for me to learn it?".

Hiccup looked at Toothless with a raised eyebrow, _"Just like how dragons couldn't speak human language, human couldn't speak Dragonese, your vocal can't create the same sound as we do."_ Toothless explained as best as he could, _"I don't know how you suddenly understand our language, nor do I care, but just like how you taught me how to write runes with one of my claw, humans can learn body language of a dragon. That girl can try to learn our body language if she want to understand what her dragon want to tell her, if her bond with her dragon strong enough, she might be able to receive images like you do"_.

Hiccup nodded at him before relaying what Toothless had told him to Astrid. He himself already learned about dragon's body language and found that he could receive mental images from Toothless and other dragons he was close enough to, so it was a possibility for Astrid to be able to receive mental images as well if her bond with Stormfly was strong enough.

"How do you suddenly understand what they are talking then?" Astrid asked again since Hiccup forget to answer the first time, she was very interested with Hiccup's ability to understand Dragonese as soon as he woke up.

"Oh, right. I think it has something to do with what I experienced in my half-asleep state." Hiccup answered thoughtfully, he had never really thought about it and just accepted that he understood Dragonese, "I don't really know how it happened, but I saw my dragon's important memories. I knew I was dreaming, but I couldn't wake up on my own, and in this dream I witness what my dragons had experienced in life through their point of view. Sometime along the way, the knowledge of Dragonese seemed to enter my mind through this memories, I hear the sound they created in their memories and just know what they meant by that".

"So, Hiccup." Stoick called for his Son's attention, "If you woke up after 3 months and a half, why do you wait until now to come back?" He asked in confusion, "Even if you couldn't come, why didn't you just send a letter?".

"Yeah, you make us believed that you're dead, Hiccup." Gobber said with a shake of his head.

"Sorry." Hiccup apologized, he knew that he had caused great pain to his Dad and Gobber, and maybe to Astrid as well, he felt bad that he couldn't return to Berk sooner. "Well, you see, I can't return to Berk right away. When I woke up, my coordination is all wrong".

"Isn't it always?" Snotlout mocked at him.

Toothless chuckled when he heard that, startling the other Vikings.

"Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile." Hiccup said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes, he looked at Snotlout and sighed, "I know I'm clumsy, alright, but that wasn't what I meant by my coordination is all wrong. What do you think will happen to you when you are living through many dragon's memories for what felt like years, even though in reality only a few months?" He asked as he ran his hand through his hair, "I know who I am and that I'm a human, but after witnessing so many memories through dragon's point of view, I kind of forgetting how to act like a human except for talking in human tongue. The first month after I woke up, my body was so weak that I barely able to move. I need to regain my strength so I can function normally, but that wasn't my only problem. My body was confused whether I'm a human or a dragon after looking through a dragon's point of view for so long, so I need to get used to move my body like a human again instead of a dragon".

"Was that really taken so long?" Fishlegs asked in confusion, "I mean, it should taken only one or two months, considering you are so smart and all that".

"Thank you for the compliment." Hiccup said with a chuckle before shaking his head, "Well, indeed, I only need only a month to get used to act like a human again, what took so long was the training." He rolled his eyes, "I woke up in a village, so I have to tell them everything to gain their trust, and they kind of disliking how you treated me before I became famous for 'taking down dragons with bare hands'. The Chief and his daughter forced me to train so I can protect myself in case you would attack me when you see me with a dragon, but when you have a mother hen of a dragon, you can't train to your limit before your dragon forced you to take a rest. That's why I took so long, and about why I didn't send you any letter to tell you that I'm alive . . . Believe me, Dad, I tried." He explained before glaring at Toothless, who looked at him with wide innocent eyes and his ear flaps standing, looking cute. "I wrote many letters to send to you, but the letters always ended up being burnt to ash by this crazy dragon".

_"I'm not crazy."_ Toothless huffed as he lightly smacked Hiccup with his tail, _"I just wanted for you to be able to protect yourself first before informing Berk, we didn't know how they will react"_.

"Yeah, yeah, like you couldn't protect me just fine if something goes wrong." Hiccup answered with a wave of his hand, clearly didn't believe what his dragon said.

He knew that Toothless was holding a grudge against the people of Berk for their treatment to him in the past, mostly his Dad, and Toothless knew that he would be angry if Toothless harm any of the people, so he decided to take revenge by letting his Dad think that he was dead by preventing him sending any letter to Berk. That was the real reason, not because Toothless wanted him to be able to protect himself first, since the dragon himself can protect Hiccup just fine.

"Anyway." He continued as he looked at the Berkians, "I finally earned my teacher's approval earlier and I could come back here, it seems that I came back just in time since when I was halfway to Berk, I saw the Outcasts headed to Berk as well. I figured that I still had time before the Outcasts arrived, so I went to the Dragon Nest first to get help from the dragons in there before coming here." He finished his story at last.

"So, are the dragons dangerous?" Elga asked curiously, "You said that they attacked us because of that monster forced them to, and it's true that we don't have a single raid after you killed it".

"They are dangerous if you attack them, Elga." Hiccup answered with a smile, "But the dragons are actually very gentle creatures, they are also very protective over their loved ones, so they won't attack you unless you attack them first".

"You forget that they had killed many of us, lad." Spitelout reminded him.

"Well, it happened during the raids, didn't it?" Hiccup asked back, "Besides, you have killed many of them as well. They were only protecting themselves, even you wouldn't just let someone kill you without a fight, right? You approach them with weapons and they will be cautious of you, and if you attack them, they will attack back".

"Alright." Stoick said when he saw that the people were still skeptical, "How about Hiccup demonstrate to you that dragons aren't dangerous? We still have many dragons in the arena that we captured in the latest raid before the raid had stopped altogether".

"Hiccup can understand them, so he can approach dragons easily without being harmed, but what about the others?" Phlegma the Fierce asked seriously.

"Everyone can train a dragon, and Hiccup already train his dragons even before he could understand what the dragons say." Astrid answered before Stoick or Hiccup could, "Don't forget that I train my own dragon without understanding what she's saying to me, and my guide was only a mere book that Hiccup wrote. As long as you learn how to approach a dragon the right way, I'm sure they won't attack you".

"That's right." Hiccup said in confirmation, "As I said, dragons are gentle creatures, they won't attack without provocation".

"Then do you think I can have my own dragon?" Tuffnut asked in excitement.

"Yeah, imagine all the explosion we can make with a dragon!" Ruffnut said in agreement.

"Can I have a Gronckle?" Fishlegs asked with the same excitement as the twins, but with different reason, "I always find them interesting".

"Hmph, you go with the Gronckle, I will have a Monstrous Nightmare as my dragon." Snotlout said boastfully.

"Sister! I also want a dragon!" Elga said cheerfully, followed by many of the children her age.

The Vikings were surprised that the teens and the children would accept the idea of training dragon so easily, but they were more surprised when Gobber voiced his request, "Ah, my beloved apprentice." Gobber began as he threw an arm around Hiccup's shoulders, "What kind of dragon do you think will suit me? I want to have a dragon for my own too, you know?".

Hiccup was grinning happily at them, he was happy that some of his tribe wanted to train dragons, it was more than what he hoped for. "Let's go to the Arena then." He said cheerfully before leading the way, followed by an amused Toothless.

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To be continued . . .

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Froim : Please review ^ ^


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

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**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

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_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_[Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

Letter

**Emphasis**

_**Dangerous Tone**_

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"What kind of dragons do we have here?" He asked Gobber as they walked to the Arena, followed by Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Stoick, and everyone else.

"2 Monstrous Nightmares, a Nadder, 2 Zipplebacks, 3 Gronckles, 5 Terrible Terrors, and a Timberjack." Gobber answered right away.

"A Timberjack?" Hiccup asked in surprise.

"Yeah, the dragon happened to be in the forest when we went to get some firewood, so we captured it." Gobber explained as they reached the gate to the arena, "Now, what kind of dragon do you think will suit me?".

"I haven't thought about it yet, actually." Hiccup answered calmly as he waited for Gobber to open the gate, "I need to tell you that you won't be the one who choose the dragon, your dragon will be the one to choose you, and you don't own a dragon like they are your pets, they are your partners and friends." He warned them all before noticing that Gobber had finished opening the gate, "Alright, leave your weapons here".

"Do we have to?" Snotlout asked nervously, suddenly afraid to come close to a dragon without a weapon.

"You can have your weapons back after the dragons understand that you won't harm them, the best way to show that you mean them no harm is by approaching them without a weapon." Hiccup explained before he walked in, with Toothless always beside him.

Astrid and Stormfly also walked in right away, she didn't bother to leave her axe outside since she has Stormfly with her, Stormfly's presence alone would be enough to assure the other dragons that she won't harm them, but she entrusted her axe to Stormfly just in case. "I will help you, Hiccup. If you need it, of course." She offered to Hiccup, "I have learned everything that you wrote on that book, I can help you".

"Thanks, Astrid." Hiccup answered with a grin, causing Astrid to blush faintly, "So, did you read everything?" Astrid nodded, "Do you have some Dragon Nip with you then? Just in case".

"Yes, I always have some with me, in case Stormfly get in bad mood or if I come across a wild dragon in the forest." She answered confidently.

"Good." Hiccup nodded in satisfaction before looking at her, "Can you help me explain the basic knowledge about training dragons to them while I calm the dragon? Like about how everything is based on trust, how to treat their dragon, and to call them with the right gender?" He asked her with a smile.

"Sure, no problem." She answered with a smile as well before her smile turned sheepish, "Um, I need to apologize".

"What for?" Hiccup asked in confusion.

"Well, I pretty much acted as if you didn't exist in the past." She answered sadly, "We were friends when we were kids, and yet I ignored you after my Dad died so I can focus on my training. I'm so sorry, Hiccup".

"It's alright." Hiccup assured her with a smile, "I understand that you want to be strong to regain your family's honor, so I don't hold anything against you".

"I also need to apologize for something else." Astrid said as she looked at Hiccup straight in the eyes, "After you left . . . I didn't mean to intrude to your Cove, but that place is perfect for hiding dragons, so I kind of spending my time in there this past year".

"Don't worry about it." He waved her apology away, "The Cove is a special place for me and Toothless, but it's also a special place for you now, you have the right to go there as well as I do".

"Thank you." Astrid smiled happily, "The Cove is very beautiful and the atmosphere is so calm, I really love spending my time in there, especially with my dragons around".

Hiccup smiled back before noticing the others already in there, the ones who want to train dragons stood there in front of him while the rest were looking at them from above, "Who want to go first?" He asked them with a bright smile on his face.

"I will!" Ruffnut said immediately as she stepped forward.

"No, I will!" Tuffnut protested as he pushed his Sister aside.

"Hey! I will go first!" Ruffnut yelled as she pushed Tuffnut back.

"No, I will go first!" Tuffnut yelled back.

"Enough!" Hiccup called them off as he pulled them apart, "You both can go first, a Zippleback is good with two Riders so you both will have a Zippleback." He said as he released his hold on the twins, who looked at him in surprise, he guessed that they never thought he would be strong enough to pull them apart like that.

"I will get ready to open the door to one of the Zippleback's pen then." Astrid announced after she saw that Hiccup had taken care of the situation.

Hiccup nodded at her before looking at the rest, "Ruff and Tuff will go first, so I suggest for the rest of you to wait near the wall." He told them calmly before looking at Toothless and Stormfly, "You two will stay near the wall as well".

_"What?!"_ Stormfly asked in disbelief, _"And let Astrid face a dragon _alone_? I know how it feel in that cage, boy, and I assure you those dragons inside aren't happy"_.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything to happen to Astrid." Hiccup promised her, "Besides, if Astrid can get close to you, I'm sure she know how to calm other dragons as well".

Stormfly was still hesitant though, _"It's alright, he will protect your Rider."_ Toothless reassured her as he nudged the other dragon with his snout, _"Trust us"_.

_"Still . . ."_ Stormfly glanced at Astrid worriedly, who glanced at their direction in confusion, her hand ready on the lever.

_"You don't have to worry about anything, my Brother knows what he is doing."_ Toothless he assured the Nadder before pushing Stormfly along as he walked off to the wall, Stormfly reluctantly went with Toothless.

"Okay. Astrid, open it." Hiccup informed her and she immediately pulled the lever down.

The Zippleback was started as first, the dragon didn't expect to be released at all. Soon though, the second he stepped out, he began snarling and get defensive at the sight of many people in the ring.

"Calm down." Hiccup said soothingly to him, or them since they have two heads, "It's okay, we are not here to hurt you. The wicked queen is dead and the war is over." He explained as he slowly walked to them with both hands outstretched, the two heads of the Zippleback watched him cautiously as he approached them. He stopped a feet in front of them and raised his hands palm out to the two heads before stopping when he could felt their breath, he then closed his eyes and lowered his head to show the dragon that he trusted them, it's up to them now whether to trust him as well or not. Hiccup waited for a few moments before he felt warm scaly heads pressed onto his palms, he opened his eyes and smiled, "That's right, it's okay." He said softly to them as he rubbed their heads and scratched their chins. He understood that the dragons in the arena would be uncomfortable at first, considering they were locked up for who knows how long, so he would have to calm them down first until they were relaxed before introducing them to the twins.

While Hiccup calmed the dragon, Astrid made her way to the twins and motioned for them to be quiet so they wouldn't startle the dragon. "Now, did you see what Hiccup did earlier?" She whispered to them, the nodded silently, she nodded back, "That was the best way to show a dragon that you trust them." She explained so they would understand the meaning of such action, "Everything is base on trust, you can't train a dragon if you don't trust them and the dragon won't let you near them if they don't trust you, so this is important".

"So, we need to do like what Hiccup did earlier? Raise our hands and look away?" Ruffnut asked in whisper as she watched Hiccup softly talking to the dragon and reassured them that no one were going to hurt them.

"Yeah." Astrid nodded as she looked at Hiccup as well, "You need to be calm and confident when you are facing them, but don't be arrogant. Dragons can tell what we are feeling, they won't believe that you trust them when you are nervous or scared of them, that's why you need to be calm and confident".

"Do we need to raise our hand to both heads like Hiccup or just one of the head?" Tuffnut asked curiously.

"Just one is enough since there are two of you, Hiccup used both of his hands because he's alone and Zippleback has two heads. You need to gain their trust at the same time, it won't work if you try at one head at a time." Astrid explained as Hiccup slowly made his way to them, "There are a few things you need to remember, treat your dragon like you treat your friend, like your equal, and don't mistook their gender either. They are as sensitive as humans about it." The twins nodded at her in understanding, "Okay, that's for now, you will learn more after you gain their trust".

"Astrid, wait." Ruffnut stopped her before she could walk away.

"Is this dragon a she or a he?" Tuffnut asked her.

Astrid looked at the Zippleback carefully, "I think it's a he." She whispered to them before heading for Stormfly and waited there with her Dragon and Toothless.

Hiccup slowly guided the Zippleback to the twins, he glanced at Astrid and Astrid nodded at him, he nodded back before looking at the twins without releasing his hands from the dragon. "Now, you remember what Astrid told you, right?" He asked them and waited for them to nod before continuing, "Okay, just don't make any sudden move that will spook them and you will be fine." He released the two heads and stepped back until he was behind the twins, he then placed his hands on the twin's shoulders, his left hand on Ruffnut while his right hand on Tuffnut, "I will be here if you need my help".

Ruffnut and Tuffnut each raised a hand to one of the heads before stopping just in front of the heads. Ruffnut raised her left hand to the right head, which was the gas head, while Tuffnut raised his right hand to the left head, which was the spark head. They inhaled deeply to calm themselves before slowly turning away, they were hesitant, but the trust was there.

The Zippleback's heads sniffed at their hand before looking at each other, Hiccup knew that they were conversing with each other in their mind since he couldn't hear anything, probably about whether they would trust the twins or not.

Toothless told him once that a Zippleback was a special dragon, since they have two heads on the same body, each head can communicate with the other without needing to voice it out loud. It's like when someone was thinking to their own self, but instead of just one mind, there were two.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the Zippleback pressed their heads onto the twin's palms. The twins flinched a bit since they weren't expecting it and looked at the dragon with shock clearly written on their face, "Wow." They breathed in awe at the same time.

Hiccup smiled at them, "Dragons are very loyal, they will do almost anything for you once you gained their trust, and they would never betray you. Now, human's loyalty is more questionable than dragons, and since you two have gained their trust . . . don't you ever break their trust in you, or you will face the consequence, got it?" He asked them seriously with a warning clearly in his tone, they nodded silently while still staring at the dragon in awe.

"So, what now?" Ruffnut asked after a long time staring at the dragon in awe, "Do we just fly on them?".

"No." Hiccup shook his head, "You may have gained their trust, but that doesn't mean you can just hop on their back and ride them. Remember what I said? You are not the one who choose your dragon, they do." He smiled at them again, "Ask them if you want to be their Riders, they will let you if they like you".

"Can I be your Rider?" Ruffnut and Tuffnut asked at the same time, causing Hiccup to chuckle at their enthusiasm, but it seems they weren't amused with each other and began fighting to see who would be the Rider. The Zippleback looked at them in amusement before snorting and separating the twins with their heads.

"You don't need to fight, two heads means two Riders." Hiccup reminded them with a grin.

"Right." The twins stated as they remembered it before looking at the dragon again and repeated their question.

_"I like this girl."_ The gas head announced as he gently nudged Ruffnut's hand with his head.

_"And I like this boy."_ The spark head answered as he looked at Tuffnut.

The two heads nodded together, _"You will be our Riders."_ They finished at the same time.

"They accept you to be their Riders." Hiccup told the twins, who were grinning widely at the news, "Why don't you give them their names and a nice scratch on their chins?".

They began scratching their dragon's heads while thinking of the best name for them.

"I got it!" Ruffnut said excitedly as she looked at the head she was scratching, "Your name is Barf".

"Belch, I think it's a good name for you." Tuffnut said to his dragon head.

The Zippleback let out a happy croon in response.

"Can we fly now?" They asked Hiccup.

"You will only fall to your death if you fly bare back on a dragon." Astrid answered for Hiccup, "You need a saddle, or at least a rope to help you hold on".

"That's right." Hiccup nodded in confirmation, "Do you want to wait until I finish making your saddle or just go with a rope?".

"Rope!" Ruffnut exclaimed excitedly, "I want to fly as soon as possible, it must be amazing!".

"Yeah!" Tuffnut agreed.

Hiccup laughed at their response, trust the twins to think of something dangerous to be something exciting. "Sure." He responded before looking at Astrid, "Would you mind flying with them? I need you to make sure they don't pull any stunt so soon and giving advice here and there . . . You've experienced in flying, right?" He asked her cheerfully before finishing uncertainly.

"Of course." Astrid answered with a grin, "I have been flying with Stormfly for almost a year now." She said reassuringly.

"Good." Hiccup said in relief before turning to the twins to see them looking at him expectantly with a roll of rope in hands, they must be getting the rope when he talked with Astrid, "Man, you are so eager." He commented with a chuckle before taking the rope from them and helped them tying it around Barf and Belch. "Ready?" He asked them.

"Of course." Ruffnut and Tuffnut answered.

"Okay." Hiccup turned his attention to Barf and Belch, "Barf, Belch. Don't fly too fast, you have to get used with the feeling of having Riders with you and they need to get the hang of flying with a dragon first".

_"No problem."_ Barf and Belch answered at the same time. Hiccup nodded in response to their answer, causing for their eyes to widen in surprise since it's the first time they saw a human who can understand their language. _"Wait, you can understand us?"_ They asked in surprise.

"Yes." Hiccup answered shortly before walking away so he wouldn't be in the way, "Alright, you're good to go." He said to the twins and the Zippleback as he gestured to the gate, since there's a roof for chains above the arena.

"Yeah! Let's go, Belch!" Tuffnut exclaimed excitedly.

"Come on, Barf!" Ruffnut also exclaimed with a wide grin of excitement on her face.

Barf and Belch walked out of the gate then took off immediately, "Let's go, Stormfly." Astrid said as she get onto Stormfly's back, "We need to make sure they won't destroy the village with their Dragon." Stormfly squawked in understanding before running out and took off as well.

"Shouldn't you go with them, Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked as he watch the gate in worry.

"Nah, I trust Astrid." Hiccup answered easily before looking at the rest, "Okay, who will go now?" He asked them with a big grin on his face.

"Me! Me!" Elga jumped in place excitedly, "Can I try with a Nadder like Big Sis?".

Hiccup chuckled, "Sure." He answered and looked at Gobber, "Where's the Nadder's pen?" He asked as he walked to the row of pens.

"At the far left." Gobber answered him.

Hiccup repeated the process with the Zippleback to the Nadder and introduced her to Elga, after Elga gained the Nadder's trust and named her Crimson, since the Nadder was red in color, once the Nadder accepted her, the 10 years old girl told Hiccup that she want to fly as well and wouldn't mind using the rope.

"Alright, that's it." Hiccup said as he finished tying the rope around Crimson's back and also around Elga so she wouldn't fall off when she was flying on her Nadder, "You can go fly first, I will follow you soon".

"Yeah!" Elga chirped happily before petting Crimson's head lightly, "Let's fly, Crimson, but not too fast, okay?".

_"Don't worry, little girl."_ Crimson crooned softly, _"I won't let anything to happen to you"_.

Hiccup smiled as he saw the two walked out of the gate, he could see that they had bonded with each other easily, maybe because Crimson saw Elga like her own hatchling. He then felt a hot breath from behind and turned around to see Toothless looked expectantly at him, he chuckled, "Always impatient, aren't you." He commented fondly before looking at the rest of the people who wanted to learn how to train their dragon, "Wait here, I will be back shortly after Elga get the hang of flying." He told them before Toothless ran out of the arena and took off to where Elga was.

The rest of the day went similarly, Hiccup would calm the dragons from the arena, which became easier and easier since the dragons from inside had heard about what had happened when Hiccup let out the few first dragons out, and introduced them to the people, then Astrid and Hiccup would take turn watching the newly bonded Vikings and dragons while sometimes giving them advice to get better in flying with their dragons.

Fishlegs got a female Gronckle whom he named Meatlug, Snotlout got a male Nightmare whom he named Hookfang, Keila also got interested in training her own dragon and got a female Nightmare whom she named Wyvern (Keila really got a good taste in name), a pair of twin girls named Ella and Elle got a male Zippleback whom they named Speedy and Firery, a boy named Rick got a female Gronckle whom he named Pineneedle, and another boy named Jack got a male Gronckle whom he named Darklava.

Gobber was actually disappointed when he didn't get a dragon because the Timberjack had told Hiccup that he didn't want a Rider yet, but he lightened up when two Terrible Terrors grew attached to him, he named them Flamer and Clawer. The other 3 Terrors decided that they wanted to explore the town since they wouldn't get killed on sight anymore, when they met Gothi, they didn't want to leave her so Gothi took them as her own dragons and named them Swifty, Greeny, and Milky.

The others had gone back to do their own stuffs since the training was done for the day, only Hiccup, Gobber, Stoick, Astrid, Toothless, Stormfly, and the Timberjack left in the arena, while those who had just gotten their own dragons still flying around with their dragons. Once they tasted the freedom when flying, they couldn't have enough of it and wanted to continue flying, and their dragons were locked up so long that they wanted to fly to their heart content.

They had just finished taking off the chain from the arena, so the dragons could fly in and out easily without having to go through the gate first, when Elga and Keila landed with a huge grin on their face. "That was really amazing!" Keila exclaimed as she climbed down from her dragon, she pet her Nightmare before going to Elga and helped her get out from the rope Hiccup tied around her earlier, "If only I knew just how free flying on a dragon is, I would try to befriend them long ago".

"Yeah!" Elga agreed as she was picked up to her Mother's arms, "I love flying! I really want to keep flying but Crimson decided to fly back on her own." She then looked at her dragon, "I guess you are tired after flying so long to make me happy, I'm sorry." She said softly as she rubbed her dragon's snout.

_"I'm not that tired, little Elga, I'm just hungry."_ Crimson softly crooned softly as she licked the little girl's cheek, making her laugh.

"Elga." Hiccup called out to her, "Crimson said that she isn't that tired, she is just hungry." He told her what her dragon said a moment ago, "And I think Wyvern is too".

_"You got it right, boy."_ Wyvern told him as she nodded so the others would understand as well.

"What do dragons eat?" Elga asked curiously, "Is it Sheep and Yak?".

"No." Hiccup shook his head, "Most Dragons eat fish, but sometimes they would hunt wild animals like boar too. The sole reason why they stole our live stocks in the past is because the monster like them more than any other animals, so they figured the monster wouldn't eat them as long as they brought it our live stocks".

"I see." Elga nodded before looking at Keila, "How much fish we have at home, Mom?" She asked with a cute expression on her face.

Keila blinked, "I don't think we have enough fish to feed a dragon, dear, let alone two." She then looked at Astrid, "How did you feed Stormfly, Astrid?".

"I don't really feed her." Astrid answered as she stood up, she was sitting while leaning against Stormfly as soon as they were done removing the chain, "Stormfly always went to hunt whenever she was hungry, but sometimes I give her my portion of chicken as a special treat, since Nadders loves chicken".

_"Yup, chicken is very tasty."_ Stormfly chirped happily as she stood up as well, _"Come on, let's go hunting together, I'm hungry too"_.

"Hold on." Hiccup told her as he went to Crimson and removed the rope from around her.

_"Thank you, that rope is starting to get me itchy."_ Crimson said to him with a happy croon.

_"Does this saddle thing I heard you are going to make will be itchy as well?"_ Wyvern asked as she light herself up to burn the rope, startling the others.

"No, when I made a saddle, I always make sure that it will be comfortable for the dragons." Hiccup answered with a smile, "Still, you need to learn not to light yourself when you aren't upset, Wyvern – especially if your Rider is on your back, or your Rider will get burn as well".

_"I will remember that."_ Wyvern said as she put out her fire, _"Let's go, I'm hungry"_.

Stormfly, Crimson, and Wyvern took off to the sky and headed out for the sea after that.

"What was that, Hiccup?" Astrid asked curiously.

"Well, the rope caused the dragons to be itchy, that's why Wyvern light herself up to get rid of it. Wyvern then asked if the saddle will be itchy for them as well, and I said no, since I always make sure it would be comfortable for them." Hiccup explained with a smile, he went over to Toothless and began scratching his head before the Timberjack joined in as he wanted to be scratched as well.

"You need to teach me how to make the saddle, Hiccup." Gobber said as he finished putting the chains to the storage in the arena, "Since the dragon raids stopped, I kind of losing my job as a blacksmith who specialized in making weapons. So, you better teach me how to make a saddle, that way, I still have something to do aside from making weapons once in a while." Hiccup answered with a grin and a nod, Gobber then looked at Keila, "I really envy you, Keila, you get yourself a dragon right away." He might cheered up when he got Flamer and Clawer as his dragon friends, but he wanted to have a dragon that could take him fly as well, he didn't want to lose to the youngsters. Not to mention that from how they said it, flying was really amazing.

"Don't worry, Gobber." Hiccup reassured Gobber as he scratched the Timberjack's head with one hand and scratched Toothless's head with the other, "I will go to the Nest tomorrow and see if any of them want to have a Rider, or maybe you will find your own dragon later".

"You don't have to go out of your way to the Nest for me, lad." Gobber said to him with a frown on his face.

"Not really." Hiccup shook his head before standing up and stretching himself, "I need to go back to Hunterville anyway, I just need to make a detour to the Nest along the way".

"Wait." Stoick cut in, "Why do you need to go back there? You can stay here, Hiccup. Berk is your home".

Hiccup smiled at him, "I know, Dad. Berk is my home, but I can't stay here just yet." He said calmly and raised his hand when Stoick wanted to protest, "I need to go back to Hunterville because I came here today as their messenger".

"Messenger?" Stoick asked in confusion.

"Yeah." Hiccup nodded, "Since I'm coming here, they want me to see if you're willing to change and accept dragons, and if you do, the Chief and his heir will come here to discuss about peace treaty with you".

"Oh, they want to be our ally?" Stoick asked with interest.

"Yes." Hiccup nodded again, "So, do you interested? If so, I will tell them".

"Sure." Stoick answered with a smile before his smile dropping, "But . . . can't you stay here for the night before you go?".

Hiccup looked up at the setting sun, "I guess I should, considering I still need to get my stuffs from my own island and make a detour to the Nest as well." He said thoughtfully before grinning at Stoick, "Okay, I will go to Hunterville tomorrow, but I still need to go now".

"Where to?" Gobber asked curiously.

"I'm going to go hunting with Toothless and my flock." Hiccup answered as he climbed onto Toothless's back, "Toothless can't fly without me, not that he like to fly without me anyway, so I will accompany him to go hunting with the rest of the flock".

"Alright, be careful, Son." Stoick said as he let out a breathe of relief, for a second he was afraid that Hiccup didn't want to stay in Berk because he secretly hate them.

Hiccup nodded in answer, he exchanged a few words with Astrid and Gobber before taking off with Toothless. A few seconds later, the Timberjack came up beside them as they flew towards the forest. He smiled at the dragon, "Hello there." He greeted the dragon.

_"Hello to you too." _The Timberjack greeted back before looking curiously at them, _"You said you have a flock, Hiccup?"_ The Timberjack asked after a few seconds passed, Hiccup and Toothless nodded together, _"Can I join in? I like you and won't mind it if you ride on me"_.

_"He is My Rider."_ Toothless said in warning, _"He will only ride on other dragons if certain circumstance happened only"_.

_"I know, you already said it earlier."_ The Timberjack replied calmly, _"I also already said that I don't want a Rider at the moment, so don't worry, I won't steal you Rider"_.

_"Good, in that case . . ."_ Toothless said in satisfaction before looking at Hiccup, _"I don't mind him joining our Flock, how about you?"_.

"I don't mind either." Hiccup answered with a smile before looking at the Timberjack, "Welcome to the Flock . . ." He trailed off before smiling sheepishly, "Can I name you? I don't want to keep calling you 'Timberjack' ".

_"Sure, I would love it."_ The dragon answered happily.

Hiccup nodded before looking the dragon over, "Cyclone, your name is Cyclone." He decided after a few seconds passed, "Okay, welcome to the Flock, Cyclone".

The newly named Cyclone purred happily in response.

XXXXX

To be continued . . .

XXXXX

Froim : Please review ^ ^


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

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**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

* * *

_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_[Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

Letter

**Emphasis**

_**Dangerous Tone**_

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"I'm going first!"

"No! I'm going first!"

"No, me!"

"No, me!"

"No, me!"

"No, ME!"

"NO, ME!"

"Be quiet!" Astrid finally snapped and hit both of the twin's heads with her knuckles.

Hiccup blinked, and blinked again as he stared sleepily at them before yawning then rubbing his eyes. "What's going on here?" He asked with half lidded eyes as he was still sleepy, "It's not even dawn yet".

"Sorry to wake you up, Hiccup." Astrid apologized with a sheepish grin as they finally noticed Hiccup, who was standing at the open doorway of the Haddock house, "They-" She pointed at the twins, Snotlout, Fishlegs, along with the children who had bonded with a dragon the previous day, with the exception of Elga, who were standing in front of the house, "-want to go flying again, but their parents want them to only fly after their saddles are done. I was the one who make the saddle for Stormfly, so I already made one for Elga yesterday, but I can only made a saddle for a Nadder and not other dragon breeds. Gobber said that you haven't taught him how to make a saddle yet, so we guess that you will be the one who make them for now. So, they are wondering, when are you going to make them?" She explained the problem before asking curiously.

Hiccup let out a long soft breath before walking back in, he came back out a few seconds later and handed a book to Astrid, "When Gobber wake up, give it to him. There are many blueprints of saddles inside, for many kind of dragons. Gobber will know how to make the saddle once he see them, so he will be the one who make the saddles, I will help whenever I can though." He explained to Astrid's confused face, "I need to go somewhere else today, remember? So I can't make the saddles".

"Oh, right. Okay then." Astrid nodded and handed the book to Fishlegs, "Go." She said shortly and the big boy run towards Gobber's house immediately, followed by the rest of the excited crowd. She shook her head at their antics before looking at Hiccup curiously, "When are you going out?".

"After breakfast." Hiccup answered with a smile, "I promised my Dad that we will have breakfast together first before I'm going".

"I see." Astrid nodded in understanding before a thought entered her mind, "How about your flock and Toothless? I mean, yesterday you said that Toothless can't fly on his own".

"Well, the rest will hunt fishes together and then brought them to the land in a big pile, they will eat together from the pile." Hiccup explained to her, "They all understand that Toothless can't fly without me and won't mind to share their catch, a flock is like a family".

"That's good then." Astrid said with a smile before looking up at the sky, there's still time until breakfast, "Do you mind if I go with you later?" She asked hopefully.

Hiccup blinked, he wondered why Astrid wanted to go with him, but then he remembered Keila said that Astrid had a crush on him. He blushed a bit, since he still had his crush on the girl, and he would be happy if they would go out together, but he still has his doubt about it. Besides . . . "I'm sorry, Astrid." He said with an apologetic smile, "I would love it if you go with me, but you need to stay here and help the new Riders about the dragons".

Astrid blinked before giving Hiccup a frown of confusion, "Isn't it your job?" She asked lightly.

"Yeah, it's actually my job since I'm the first Rider and all, but I need to go today." Hiccup answered as he scratched the back of his head, he then looked at Astrid with a smile, "I can't do this alone, Astrid, I need your help. I may have the most experience here, but I can't stay in Berk all the time".

"Why not?" Astrid asked in surprise, "Berk is your home, as Chief Stoick said yesterday, you can stay here for as long as you want".

"True." Hiccup nodded his head in agreement, "Berk is, indeed, my home, and always will be. Sadly, as I said earlier, I can't stay here all the time. There will be time when I have to go out of Berk and to the Nest, so I need you here to help them about the dragons at least until one of them become as good as you do".

"Why do you need to go to the Nest?" Astrid asked in confusion, "Your flock is here, right?".

Hiccup sighed and nodded, "Yes, my flock is here." He said slowly before shaking his head, "Never mind, I need to talk about this to Dad first anyway, hopefully he will understand and make the announcement later".

Astrid sighed but smiled at Hiccup, "Alright then, I will help you out with the new Riders and the villagers." She promised before looking behind Hiccup, "I will let you have time with your Dad alone then, see you".

"See you." Hiccup nodded at her and watched her walked away before turning around, only to face to face with Stoick. "Oh, morning, Dad." He greeted with a grin.

"Morning, Son." Stoick answered with a smile before wrapping his hand around Hiccup's shoulders, "How about we go have breakfast in the Great Hall?".

Hiccup shook his head, "Let's eat here, I will cook something." He said with a smile before walking inside, "There's something important that I need to discuss with you".

_What is it about, I wonder?_ Stoick thought to himself as he followed Hiccup to the kitchen.

Hiccup hummed happily as he grilled some fished for him and his Dad, it's only a simple cooking, but he enjoyed it very much. He make sure the fishes weren't overcooked then brought them to the table where his Dad sat while waiting for him, "Here you go." He said as he put the plates on the table.

"Thanks." Stoick said with a smile before they began eating in a comfortable silence.

"About what I want to discuss with you . . ." Hiccup began after they finished their breakfast, "It's about my position as the Heir of Berk".

"Are you worried that your position is already taken?" Stoick asked with his eyebrows raised, "Don't worry about it, you are still my Heir".

Hiccup shook his head, "That is what I need to discuss with you." He said seriously, "I'm sorry to say this, but I can't become the next Chief, Dad".

"Why not?" Stoick asked in surprise, "You are my Son, Hiccup, you're the only one who has the right to fill my position".

"I know, Dad, but I . . ." Hiccup bit his lower lip in hesitation before shaking his head and looked at Stoick straight at the eyes, "I can't become the next Chief, not anymore. I have my own people now, it will be very hard for me if I have to lead Berk as well".

Stoick looked at Hiccup in confusion, "Are you saying that you are a Chief of another Tribe now?" He asked slowly as he was at a lost.

"No, not another Tribe." Hiccup answered him and inhaled deeply, "My people are the dragons, Dad, I'm their Alpha, alongside Toothless." Stoick stared at Hiccup in incomprehension, so Hiccup explained more, "The dragons from the Nest had been under slavery for too long Dad, they don't know what to do without someone to lead them now that they are free. They were at a loss of what to do, they need someone to lead them, so they chose me and Toothless to be their Alphas, their Leaders. I, in good conscience, can't just leave them alone when they need me".

"But you are supposed to be the next Chief!" Stoick argued, "Our people need you, Hiccup, you are the best person to lead them after I retire".

Hiccup sighed and scratched the back of his head, "That's the problem, I have a whole Nest to take care as an Alpha, if I have to be the Chief as well, I don't think I can care for the both sides to the fullest." He explained, "Dad, please understand." He looked pleadingly at his Dad, "You need to choose someone else to be the Heir. My hands are already full, if I have to be an Alpha as well as a Chief, that would only lead to trouble in the future".

Stoick frowned in unhappiness, "Can't the dragons just choose another dragon to be their Alpha?" He tried to change his Son's mind, "I mean, dragon should lead dragon while human lead human".

Hiccup looked at his Dad sadly, "Not with the dragons from the Nest, Dad." He shook his head with a sigh, "You didn't see how broken they were when they remembered everything that they did under the Red Death's control, they are afraid that if they went to another Alpha species, they will be controlled once again and be forced to do something against their will. Toothless and I were the ones who freed them, they knows that we won't force them to do something against their will like the Red Death, that's why they chose us to be their Alphas".

Stoick sighed and massage the bridge of his nose, "Is there nothing I can say to change your mind?" He asked as he looked at his Son sadly.

Hiccup shook his head sadly, "They need me more than the people of Berk, Dad." He said softly, "You can choose someone to be your Heir, the one you think will suit to be a Chief the most".

"Who? Snotlout?" Stoick scoffed at the idea, the lad would destroy the village during the first week of him becoming the Chief, but then he looked at Hiccup with resigned smile, "I wasn't a good father to you, was I? I never listened to you in the past, when I should care and listen to you like a good father, and I always treated you as your Chief instead of your father".

"Don't blame yourself, Dad." Hiccup reached a hand to touch Stoick's hand, "It's hard to be a father while you have a village to care for, I don't blame you for what had happened, let the past be in the past." He said with a gentle smile.

Stoick answered with a small smile before chuckling, "Why am I feeling like I'm the Son, now?" He asked in a better mood than earlier, "You have grown, Hiccup." He pulled his hand from under his Son's and covered Hiccup's hand with his, "You are smart and wise, you will be a good leader, of men or of dragons." He smiled proudly at Hiccup, "Even though I'm a bit disappointed that you can't lead Berk as a Chief like what I'm hoping for, I understand that you have your own responsibility towards the dragons".

"So . . .?" Hiccup looked at Stoick hopefully.

Stoick nodded in confirmation, "You have opened my eyes, Hiccup. I now know that dragons aren't just mindless beasts, they have mind like humans." He said as he stood and walked to his Son, "Be a good leader for them, Son, lead them as best as you can." He placed his hand firmly on Hiccup's shoulder and squeezed gently, "I'm proud of you".

"Thanks, Dad." Hiccup said with a big grin on his face, happy that his Dad was proud of him and approved of his decision, "So, any idea as to who you will choose to replace my position?" He asked curiously.

Stoick hummed to himself with a thoughtful look, "I'm not very sure." He admitted sheepishly, "By law, Snotlout should be the one, but what do you think about it?".

"If you want Snotlout to replace me, you need to have him trained strictly, he need to know that to become a Chief doesn't mean he can just order people around without thinking about the consequence of his action." Hiccup answered thoughtfully, "Snotlout aside, I think Astrid will be best to be a Chief than Snotlout." He told his Dad seriously, "She is smart and strong, as long as she can keep her temper in check, she is perfect".

"You have a point." Stoick nodded in agreement, "I will discuss it with Spitelout, Gobber, and Keila first before making any decision".

Hiccup nodded in understanding, a thud then could be heard from the front side of the house, "Ah, they are back." He said as he stood up, he made his way to the front door with Stoick following behind him, they were greeted by Toothless and the rest of Hiccup's flock as soon as Hiccup opened the door.

_"Let's go, Brother."_ Toothless said to him while giving Hiccup his toothless smile.

"Yeah." Hiccup agreed and climbed onto Toothless's back, he looked at Stoick and waved, "I will be back as soon as I can. See you, Dad".

"Be careful, Son." Stoick answered with a nod.

Hiccup nodded back and flew towards Hunterville.

XXXXX

"So, basically the design of the saddle for each dragon is the same?" Astrid asked as she helped sewing the saddle for a Gronckle, since she didn't have anything else to do. She had gone flying with Stormfly and Rivera, but it kind of boring to fly alone now after she had a taste of what flying with her friends felt like, so she decided to help Gobber making the saddles.

"Yeah, only the shape that is different, but basically all of them are the same." Gobber answered as he watched the teens and Keila made their own saddles, they were impatient to go flying so Gobber told them to make their own saddles, they could go fly sooner then, "One thing that I noticed from all of them is the fact that Hiccup designed them to be comfortable for the dragons, strong and fit them well but won't restrict their movement".

"Finish!" Keila announced proudly as she held out the saddle for her dragon, earning an envious groan from the teens who still haven't finished their saddle, "Now I can go flying with Elga".

"Yay!" Elga, who had been watching them while playing with Crimson, cheered in excitement, "Let's go then, Mom!".

"So impatient." Keila said with a chuckle as she stood up, "Alright, let's go flying".

Just then, Stoick entered the forge, "Ah, you want to go flying?" He asked her.

"Yes." Keila answered, "Is there a problem, Chief?" She asked curiously.

"No, not at all." Stoick reassured her, "It's just, I need to speak with you and Gobber, do you mind coming to my house for a bit?"

"Not at all." Keila answered lightly before smiling at her youngest Daughter, "Elga, we will go flying later, okay?".

"Okay." Elga nodded in understanding.

Stoick nodded then looked at Gobber, who nodded in answer, the three of them then walked to the Haddock house, joined by Spitelout on the way.

"What is it about, I wonder?" Fishlegs asked to no one after the four adults entered Stoick's house.

"Who knows?" Astrid asked back before raising an eyebrow to the rest of the teens who had stopped working to look at Stoick's house, "What are you guys doing? If you don't finish those saddles soon, then you won't fly for today".

With that, they went back to working on their saddles.

It was some time later when the four emerged from the Haddock house that Stoick call for the people's attention, they went to the Great Hall and waited for Stoick to tell them why they were having a meeting so suddenly.

"I'm sure you all are wondering why we have this meeting, so I will get to the point." Stoick said in his booming voice so everyone could hear him, "The reason for this meeting is because I have an announcement for you, Hiccup is not the Heir of Berk anymore!".

Astrid gasped in shock and disbelief when she heard that, and the people began murmuring to each other. "But why?!" She asked Stoick in confusion, "He hasn't do anything wrong!".

"Yes, Astrid, Hiccup hasn't do anything wrong." Stoick nodded at her in agreement, "I don't want to remove him from his position either, I want him to be my Heir still, but Hiccup requested for this".

"What?" Was the only word the people could say in response.

"Why would Hiccup asked for something like that?" Fishlegs asked in confusion.

"Ha! It's clear that Hiccup finally see that I'm better than him and want to give his position to me!" Snotlout said boastfully.

"Actually, no." Stoick deadpanned, Snotlout sweat dropped and grinned sheepishly in embarrassment, "The reason why Hiccup want for me to choose someone else to be the Heir of Berk is because it will be hard for him if he had to be a Chief in the future".

Mildew snorted, "What? The boy chickened out?" He asked mockingly, "That boy is still useless".

"Say that again and I will throw you to the sea, Mildew." Stoick threatened him with a dead glare, "Hiccup has his own responsibility, he already got his hands full, that's why he feel that it will be best for someone else fill his position".

"And what is this responsibility?" Astrid asked with a frown on her face, she didn't understand why Hiccup would do this.

"The dragons." Stoick answered shortly, as if that information was enough to explain everything, "I had discussed this with Spitelout, Gobber, and Keila, we agreed that Astrid will be the new Heir of Berk".

"Me?!" Astrid gasped in shock as the murmurs started again among the people, she inhaled deeply to calm herself, "I'm honored, Chief, but why me?".

"Exactly!" Snotlout exclaimed in agreement, his voice filled with disbelief, "Why Astrid?! By law, it should be me who fill Hiccup's position!".

"We have our own reason." Spitelout told his Son as he didn't want to embarrass the boy, by telling him that he was too prideful and didn't have the brain needed to be a Chief, in front of the people. Snotlout wanted to protest, but a glare from Spitelout was enough to stop him.

"Alright, I called you for this announcement only, you are free to go back to your own activities." Stoick told them as he waved his hand in dismiss.

Astrid waited until they all gone before approaching the Chief, Gobber, and her Mother, as Spitelout had gone to have a talk with his Son, "Can you tell me why I'm chosen?" She asked them curiously, "And why Hiccup back down from being the Heir?".

"Lass, Hiccup got his hand full with the dragons." Gobber answered her, "The dragons chose him and that Night Fury to be their Alphas, he already has his own 'people' to lead".

Astrid gaped at him._ The dragons made Hiccup as their Alpha?_ She thought in shock, _Is that why Hiccup said that he can't stay in Berk all the time? Because he need to take care of the dragons?_

"Hiccup was the one who recommend for you to replace him." Keila explained to her Daughter, pulling Astrid from her thought, "We agreed that you have it in you to be a leader, that's why you are chosen to be the new Heir".

Astrid couldn't believe her ears, Hiccup recommended for her? She know that she had a competitive streak, but even she never dream to be a Chief, she always thought that Hiccup will be the one who become Chief if Stoick retired in the future. "I don't know if I can do it, Chief." She said in the end.

"You can." Stoick assured her firmly, "You are smart, Astrid, with enough training, you will become a great Chief for Berk".

Astrid blushed for a bit. "If you say so." She said with a sheepish smile.

"Your mother has a good idea as from where you can start your training to be a Chief." Stoick continued with an encouraging smile, "We will reopen the Dragon Training, but instead of killing them, people will learn how to best interact with a dragon and train them." He explained as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "You will be the leader, lass. You have the longest experience as a Rider after Hiccup, I'm sure you can do it".

Astrid gasped in awe, "Really?" She asked excitedly. Stoick, Gobber, and Keila nodded in answer. "That's great!".

They smiled at her enthusiasm.

The rest of the day went in a blur, they turned the Kill Ring into the new Berk Dragon Training Academy and the teens finished their saddles. When Astrid, Elga, Keila, and the teens went flying on their dragons, the rest of the children got their parents to help Gobber making their saddles so they could go flying as well. Astrid had taken her new position as the Heir and the leader of Berk Riders seriously, she helped the new Riders to get used with flying to the best of her ability.

Hiccup returned to Berk later that evening, with many dragons following him, his flock as well as a few dragons from the Nest who want to have a Rider. Among them was a Hotburple – a cousin of Gronckle – who took a liking at Gobber, they bonded and Gobber named him Grump. Then Phlegma the Fierce had bonded with a Gronckle while Emma bonded with a Nadder, the three of them joined Dragon Training so they would know how to train their dragon the best way.

A week later, the Chief of Hunterville named Rugra the Striker and his Daughter named Ruby came to Berk with a few of his people. Surprisingly, the Chief and his Daughter were on the back of dragons, the Chief was on a Nightmare while Ruby was on a Changewing. The Berkians welcomed them with a feast, Stoick thanked Rugra for his help when Hiccup was injured in his village, and then they discussed about the peace agreement and formed the alliance.

Astrid was a bit jealous when Ruby hugged Hiccup just as they were going to return to Hunterville, Ruby saw her and smirked knowingly. "Don't worry, we are only friends." She whispered to Astrid, "Besides, I already have a boyfriend back home." She continued with a wink, causing Astrid to blush in embarrassment, before flying away with her Changewing, Breeze.

Nothing much happened after that, they went back to their daily activities and everything returned to normal. The new Riders got the hang of being a Rider and worked together with their dragons, all except Snotlout, who was still insisted that he was better than Hiccup and decided to train his dragon on his own way. Each time he boastfully said that he was better than Hiccup – therefore he would suit to be the Heir more than anyone, and each time he tried to order Hookfang – his Nightmare – to do something as if Hookfang was a mere pet, Hookfang would burn Snotlout's behind and the boy would ended up screaming then jumped into the water bucket.

Not much changed in Berk aside from the dragons who now living together in peace with them, ever since then, live had become much easier. In the past, they always did everything the Viking way, which had become the hard way now, but some of the people still stubbornly did everything the Viking way, except from killing dragons since they didn't do it anymore.

It was understandable. Most of them had bitter experience with dragons and were having a hard time looking at a dragon without remembering the past, and so it prevented them from befriending any dragon. They tolerated the dragon's presence in the village though. Stoick was one of this people, he said he was too old to train dragon, which was argued by Gobber since Gobber himself trained a dragon, so he admitted that it's hard for him to get close to a dragon when he remembered that a dragon was the one who had taken his wife.

Stoick's wife who named Valka, who was very sick in that particular dragon raid that night, had forced herself to fight. Hiccup and his mother were supposed to stay at home, because he was too young to get out in a raid and his mother needed to rest, but their house caught on fire, so they had to get out unless they wanted to burn to crisp. Stoick saw what happened and rushed to protect them, but then a dragon snatched Valka away while another tried to get Hiccup. Stoick knew that he couldn't help his wife even if he wanted to, the dragon was too far away, so he attacked the dragon who was after Hiccup.

That night was a horrible night for them, Hiccup lose his Mom while Stoick lose his wife. They believed that Valka wouldn't survive against a dragon when she was that sick. After that night, they have been drifted apart, Stoick buried himself in his duty as Chief while Hiccup tried to kill dragons using his inventions. Now that the war with dragons was over, they tried to be a Father and Son once again, trying to understand and support each other.

Hiccup understood Stoick's reason, because even he still had a nightmare about that night sometimes, so he didn't force Stoick to try and train a dragon. Astrid and Keila, on the other hand, were persistent in their effort to get Stoick try and train a dragon. Keila had lose her husband, Sam, while Astrid lose her Father that very same night, they understood what Stoick and Hiccup felt about Valka, but they still wanted for Stoick to move on from his grief and tried to train a dragon, just like Hiccup.

"Chief, please think more about it." Astrid said as she tried to keep up with Stoick as the man walked towards the boat. The man was planning to have a break from his duty as a Chief by helping Mulch and Bucket fishing, Spitelout would cover for him for the day and Astrid would help Spitelout as her training to be a Chief. "If you have a dragon, everything will become easier." She tried to reason with him, "You can go from one place to another faster on a dragon's back, your job as a Chief can be done sooner with the help from your dragon. The most important thing is, you can protect this island from a lot of things, even Alvin".

"You are right about it, Astrid." Stoick answered her thoughtfully, "Alvin knows that we have dragons on our side, he will be back".

"We have dragons on our side and we got him running in fear, but imagine if you are the one who make them running by fighting alongside your dragon!" Astrid said enthusiastically, "We don't have to worry about the Outcasts anymore!".

Stoick chuckled at her enthusiasm, "It's a nice image, lass, but in case the Outcasts coming again, I will leave the command over the Riders to Hiccup and you. I will just handle the ones on land." He said as he stepped into the boat, "I have my own reason, Astrid, please understand." He smiled at the girl and looked at Spitelout, who also walked with them but stayed silent, "I'm counting for you for today then, Brother".

Spitelout nodded at him, "I will make sure there's no problem arise, and Astrid will learn the basic of being a Chief by the end of the day." He promised.

"Right." Stoick nodded back, "When Hiccup finished with whatever he's doing in the forge, let him know that we will be on the usual place, so he can come find me if he want to".

"Sure, no problem." Spitelout said easily with a wave of his hand, "Go have your break".

Stoick grinned and nodded to Bucket and Mulch to let them know that it's alright to go.

Astrid sighed as she watched the boat left, "If only he try to train a dragon." She said under her breath.

"You have to be more understanding, Astrid." Spitelout told her calmly, "Not everyone can let go of their bitter past so easily".

"I know." She said shortly while turning around, "If you need me, I will be in the academy." She told the man and left, she got a class of newbie Riders to teach.

XXXXX

To be continued . . .

XXXXX

Froim : Please review ^ ^


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

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**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

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_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_[Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

Letter

**Emphasis**

_**Dangerous Tone**_

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Stoick was humming to himself as he checked the net to make sure it was set perfectly.

"You seem to be in a good mood, Chief." Mulch commented as he watched the man.

"Because I am." Stoick said simply and turned to look at Mulch, "How long we wait normally?" He asked since he never go fishing before.

"About half an hour or a full hour." Mulch answered as he finished setting the net on his side.

"Good, I will just relax here then." Stoick replied as he sat on an empty fish barrel, simply enjoying the calmness that he rarely got, but then he noticed Mulch and Bucket's worried expression, "What are you worrying about?" He asked curiously.

"Haven't you heard, Chief?" Bucket replied as he looked around, "A rumor said that, lately, there's a rogue dragon that keep attacking fishermen's boat".

"Ah, the problem with rogue dragon." Stoick nodded in understanding, "I have heard about it. That's another reason why I go with you today, aside from to have a break from my other chiefing duty. I want to catch this dragon and bring it to Berk, then Hiccup can talk with it and find out why it keep attacking the fishermen." He explained calmly, "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you both".

Just as he said that, the boat rocked. "It's coming!" Mulch announced, causing Stoick to jump to his feet, "It's circling us!".

Stoick narrowed his eyes as he tracked the dragon's movement with his eyes, the dragon finally flew out of the water and Stoick's eyes widened. "A Thunderdrum." He breathed in awe as he stared at the blue colored dragon, "A dragon that people say to have it's power come from Thor himself".

"What to do, Chief?!" Mulch and Bucket asked in panic.

Stoick saw the Thunderdrum opened it's mouth, "Duck!" He yelled and ducked, just in time to avoid getting hit by a powerful sonic blast head on, but the attack had broke the sail to pieces. He stood back out and cracked his knuckles, "You attack us first, dragon." He said as he stared at the dragon in the eyes, "Prepare yourself!" He yelled out his battle cry and charged at the Thunderdrum bare handed.

The Thunderdrum opened it's mouth to let out another sonic blast, but Stoick got the dragon first and hit it at the jaw, the dragon let out a cry and dove back into the sea. Stoick looked around for when the dragon would came out again, but then the dragon's tail wrapped around him and pulled him underwater. He used his strength to release himself from the dragon's hold and immediately have to grab the dragon's jaws when it moved to bite him.

"Chief!" Mulch and Bucket cried out in worry when he and the dragon get out of the sea once again.

They crashed onto the deck, the dragon tried to pin Stoick but Stoick punched it to throw it away from him. He saw a net near him and immediately picked it up, then, using the dazed state of the dragon, he threw the net at the dragon and pinned it down using his weight and strength.

"That was the most exciting fight I even have." Stoick said with a smirk as he looked down at the dragon, who struggled to get away but couldn't because of the net.

"Chief!" Astrid's voice reached him, he looked up to see the girl flew on Stormfly along with the rest of the teens, "We were flying around when we heard the Thunderdrum's roar, so we came to investigate." She explained as she landed on the boat, "What happened here?".

"Well, you've heard about the rumor saying a rogue dragon keep attacking the fishermen, here is the dragon." Stoick gestured to the Thunderdrum, "I'm planning to bring it back to Berk so Hiccup can talk with it, then we can find out why this dragon attacking us".

They stared at him with gaping mouth, "Did you just fight with that dragon and won?" Snotlout asked in awe.

"Of course!" Stoick laughed at the question, "Now, don't just stay there, help us get back to Berk!" He ordered them, "We lost the catch today and have a broken boat, we need to get back so we can send out another fishing boat".

They returned to Berk with the help of the dragons and brought the Thunderdrum to the academy, "Where's Hiccup?" Stoick asked he looked around the academy, "I thought he would be here by now." He had just come in because he need to change his clothes first.

"We went to the forge to find him but Gobber said that Hiccup had left for the Nest." Fishlegs answered, "It seems that there's a problem in the Nest, so as the Alphas, he and Toothless are needed over there".

"But Hiccup told Gobber that he would be back before dinner time." Astrid said immediately as soon as he saw Stoick's disappointed face, the man must be looking forward to have family time with Hiccup.

"I guess we need to wait until Hiccup return then." Stoick said with a sigh before his eyes darting to the cage where the Thunderdrum was locked for the time being, "Hmm . . . what do you say if I want to train this guy?" He asked Astrid curiously.

"It's awesome!" Snotlout answered right away.

"Yeah, so cool!" Tuffnut joined in.

"Definitely cool!" Ruffnut said as well.

"Hey! Don't imitate me!" Tuffnut said as he pushed his Sister, who in turn pushed him back double force, leading them to fight as usual.

Astrid looked at them with a bored expression, "Fishlegs, get them out of here." She told the larger boy before looking at Snotlout, "Leave." She said shortly.

"Why?" Snotlout asked back.

"Because I said so." Astrid answered.

"Can I get a kiss first?" Snotlout asked as he grinned stupidly at Astrid while flexing his muscle.

Astrid answered by punching him at the face, "In your dream." She sneered and pushed him to the door's direction.

"You have many fans, huh?" Stoick commented teasingly.

"Who cares about fans if Hiccup isn't one of them?" She muttered unhappily to herself, oblivious to the fact that Hiccup was crushing on her as well, before looking at Stoick curiously, "I'm glad that you want to train a dragon, but why?" She raised an eyebrow at the man.

"When we fought earlier, I know that he got spark in him." Stoick looked at the Thunderdrum, "Somehow I don't mind it if it's him, I just know that he is the one for me".

"Let's see if it's true then." Astrid smiled at him, "The first rule in training dragon is 'everything based on trust', so you need to let him know that you are a friend. A bit hard considering you both just fought each other, but not impossible." She walked to the lever and placed a hand on it, "Don't forget to make eye contact, let him know he can trust you".

"Okay, let's try it." Stoick said confidently.

Astrid pulled the lever down and released the dragon, the Thunderdrum slowly walked out of the cage and approached Stoick, "Stay calm." She said to them both, she was a bit nervous since it's the first time she helped someone to train a dragon, Hiccup was the one who helped the others before, "Don't make any sudden move, it will spook him".

Stoick slowly held out a hand and touched the dragon's snout, but the dragon tried to bit Stoick's hand, thankfully the man could pulled his hand away in time. Unfortunately, Stoick's reflect kicked in and he immediately punched the dragon with his right fist.

"Woah!" Astrid gasped in shock, "What happened with trust?!" She asked in disbelief.

"My bad, but it's his fault too, he tried to bit my hand off!" Stoick defended himself.

The Thunderdrum shot out from the cage but Stoick caught his tail to prevent him from flying away, they still need Hiccup to talk to the dragon first so they could find out why he attacked the boats.

"Stop it, Chief, it's not working that way!" Astrid tried to tell the man.

"If it's not working then I just have to show him who is the boss." Stoick said back and pulled the tail until the dragon fell to the ground, he immediately jumped and sat on it's back. The dragon went wild and flew away carrying Stoick, while trying to throw the man from his back, "Woah! Easy! Don't you know who I am?!" Stoick yelled out as he got carried away by the dragon.

Astrid could only stare at their retreating figures, "We really got a problem now." She said with a shake of her head before running out of the academy, "Stormfly!" She called out to her dragon, who squawked at her and landed beside her, "Come on, girl, we need to follow them!".

It's a good thing that Astrid followed them, because the Thunderdrum managed to throw Stoick off of him when they were high in the air, the Chief would be dead if it wasn't for Stormfly who caught him. "Follow him, Astrid!" Stoick said as soon as he climbed onto Stormfly's back, "We need to know why he attacked us!".

Astrid nodded and patted Stormfly's neck to let her know that they need to follow the dragon, "Hold on." She warned before Stormfly flew faster than earlier pace.

They followed the Thunderdrum to an island, and when they landed, they were surprised when they saw an injured Thunderdrum. "Do you think she is his mate?" Astrid asked as she looked at the purple colored dragon, her eyes looked at them warily.

"Who knows?" Stoick asked back as he climbed off of Stormfly's back, "But at least now we know why he attacked the fishing boats, he need to protect her." He then looked at Astrid seriously, "Go get help and tell Gobber to get ready, she need help".

"I can't leave you here alone, Chief." Astrid protested.

"Go." Stoick said sternly.

Astrid didn't have another choice beside to go and did as what Stoick told her to do.

Stoick saw them left before returning to the Thunderdrum that caught his interest, "I want to help." He said to the dragon as he slowly reached out to touch the dragon's snout, "Trust me." Before Stoick could touch the dragon, however, something behind Stoick caught the dragon's attention and caused him to growl angrily. Stoick turned around and saw many wild boars approaching with a dangerous look at their eyes, "I'm guessing that they were the cause for your friend's injury." He said with his eyes narrowed.

XXXXX

"Any of you found him?" Hiccup asked his flock after they regrouped again, the rest voiced their failure at finding the dragon, causing Hiccup to sigh, "If only Scauldia is here, then she can help us searching the sea".

Scauldia was another member of their flock who was a Scauldron, they met each other when the young Scauldron accidently got caught in Hunterville's fishing net. Hiccup calmed her down and she immediately took a liking to him, not to mention that she loved the attention.

Earlier, he was working on his fire sword, which he called Inferno, when a Terror flew into the forge and said that they got a problem. He had flown with Toothless and the rest of his flock to meet Sparker halfway to The Helheim Nest – since the dragons in Berk called Berk as their Nest as well – and the Nightmare told him that there's a Thunderdrum who attacked fishermen's boats lately. They feared that the Vikings would start killing dragons again if the Thunderdrum kept his attack, so he was asked to talk with the Thunderdrum to solve this problem. Since he and Toothless was the Alphas of both The Helheim Nest and The Berk Nest, they figured that the Thunderdrum would listen to him more than them.

Hiccup and his flock had been searching for the Thunderdrum, but they couldn't find the said dragon anywhere above the sea, so he thought that maybe the Thunderdrum hid in the sea. Hiccup thought that if Scauldia was with him, the Scauldron could help him searching the sea, it's just too bad that Scauldia was still helping the Hunterville with their fishing at the moment. She need to help them until they gained enough trust from another tidal class dragon, so that the other dragon could take over her job and she could rejoin him. It might take a long time, maybe months, because it was harder to gain the trust of Scauldrons than the usual breed of dragons.

_"Alphas!"_ Stormfly's voice was the one who reach him first before he caught sight of Astrid on her dragon's back.

"Astrid?" Hiccup called out to her.

"Hiccup!" She called him as soon as she arrived within hearing range, "It's great that we meet here." She said with relief clear in her voice, "I need your help".

"What is it?" He asked her curiously.

Astrid then told him how his Dad caught a rogue Thunderdrum who attacked his fishing boat, then Stoick tried to train the dragon but failed and got carried away by the dragon instead. She told him how she and Stoick followed the dragon and found that he had an injured friend whom he need to protect, that's why he attacked the fishermen.

"Stoick told me to get help, so can you go and help him?" Astrid asked urgently, "I need to go back to Berk and inform Gobber so he could prepare everything".

"Sure." Hiccup answered with a smile, thanks to his Dad and Astrid, he now know where the Thunderdrum he was searching for was at and the reason why he attacked the fishing boats, "Help Gobber with the preparation, we will arrive there shortly".

"Thanks, Hiccup." Astrid said with a smile before patting her Nadder, "Let's go home, girl".

Stormfly squawked her affirmative and flew back to Berk.

"Come on." Hiccup called out to his flock, "We have a Thunderdrum to help." He said before directing Toothless to fly towards the direction Astrid was from.

XXXXX

It's not a secret that Vikings like to fight so much, so when Stoick, the stubborn Viking he was, saw the boars approaching threateningly, he reached for his hammer and charged at the boars with a loud battle cry right away. If he could hit a Monstrous Nightmare bare handed, of course he would be able to handle many boars at once. One or two of them sneaked behind him and targeted the injured dragon, but the blue Thunderdrum took care of the problem by knocking them away with his tail. Stoick thought that he and the dragon was good when fighting together, just like when he fought with Gobber.

A boar attacked Stoick from behind, he managed to throw the boar away from him but then another boar attacked him and caught him off guard, he lost his hammer in the process and fell onto his back. Stoick growled in anger as he tried to get the boar off of him, he couldn't believe that he make such a mistake, he was then surprised when a tail whipped the boar away. He didn't let the shock get the better of him and immediately stood up before charging at the boars again, he hit one of the boars with his hammer and knocked it off the cliff into the sea.

Stoick and the Thunderdrum saw that there were more boars heading their way before looking at each other straight in the eyes, it was now or never, Stoick decided. He silently reached out a hand and stopped just before he touch the dragon, just like what he saw when his Son gained Barf and Belch's trust back then, whether the dragon wanted to trust him or not, it's his choice.

The Thunderdrum sniffed his hand before closing his eyes and touched his snout to Stoick's palm, Stoick smiled at the dragon before looking seriously at the slowly approaching boars without removing his hand. In a swift move, he removed the brace that they put on the dragon to prevent him from shooting his sonic blast, a sign that he trust the dragon not to blast him.

The Thunderdrum growled softly in approval and lowered his head, which was connected to his body without a neck to bridge the two parts, an invitation for Stoick to get on. Stoick get on the dragon and sat there, looking all majestic and powerful, while his Thunderdrum turned towards the boars. Stoick raised his left hand and his Thunderdrum blasted the boars away with his sound wave, and a feeling of triumph warmed their heart.

"Look at us, we are bonding!" Stoick said to his dragon as soon as he was sure that there's no boars left, his dragon purred at him in response.

Stoick thought that he would never bond with a dragon, the memory of the dragon who took his wife from him had always been in his heart, but he thought that he need to let go of his hatred towards the dragons now. He wasn't the only one who lose someone during the war, he had seen it when he saw his dragon protected his friend, he now understood that the dragons had lose their loved ones as well during the war.

When he fought with his dragon, he felt warm inside, as if they were destined to meet each other. He now understood what Hiccup and Astrid felt about their dragons, it's like he had been missing a piece of himself and never know about it until he met his dragon. He would never thought that it was possible, for him to bond with a dragon and fight alongside them like what Astrid said to convince him to train his own dragon, but now not only that he had train his own dragon, he had fought alongside his dragon and won.

"We make a good team." Stoick said proudly as he gently patted his dragon at the head, he looked up when he heard a roar and saw his Son flew to him with his dragons, "Son!" He greeted as he waved at his Son, "Astrid called you?".

"Yeah." Hiccup answered as he and his flock landed in front of him, "She said that you tried to train him and failed, but I see that you had succeeded".

"Well, we fought some boars together and bonded." Stoick said happily as he motioned to his dragon, "It's just like what Astrid said, which I'm sure she know about it because of your book, everything is based on trust with dragons." Hiccup smiled and nodded in approval, "So, have you solved whatever problem that you got in the Nest?".

"As soon as I have a talk with him." Hiccup gestured to Stoick's dragon, earning a raised eyebrow from Stoick. He climbed down from Toothless's back and walked to the blue Thunderdrum, "Hello there, Thunderdrum." He greeted the dragon as he held out his hand in front of the dragon's snout, the dragon sniffed his hand for a bit before pressing his snout onto Hiccup's palm, "The dragons from The Helheim Nest are worried because of your action, they want me to find out why you are attacking the fishermen so I can solve this problem." He explained with a smile at the dragon, "Now that I understand your reason for attacking them, I would like to offer something. We will help you protecting your friend and help her heal, you are welcome to join the Nest if you want, but I want you to stop attacking the fishermen unless they attacked you first. How about it?".

_"I don't know why you ask me when you can't understand me, but I accept your offer."_ The Thunderdrum answered with a purr, _"I promise not to attack them unless they attack me first, I want to stay with this man though, so I don't think I will join the Nest"_.

Hiccup chuckled, "I can understand you." He told the dragon, earning a surprised look from the dragon in front of him, "You can join The Berk Nest if you want, this man is my Dad, and we stay in Berk".

"**The** Berk Nest?" Stoick asked in surprise and confusion, "Since when Berk become a Nest?".

"Since the dragons love to stay in Berk, they called Berk as their Nest." Hiccup explained with a grin, "I hope you don't mind, since I'm sure more dragons will come to Berk now that we don't kill dragons anymore".

"I don't mind." Stoick answered with a smirk, "I'm sure that many of the villagers will want to train a dragon, considering I got myself a dragon now".

Hiccup chuckled in response, he then looked at Bonecrusher and nodded before looking at the Thunderdrum, "Can you help your friend to climb onto his back?" He pointed at his Boneknapper, "If she stay at Berk, she can rest without worrying for wild boars".

_"Thank you, kind one."_ The Thunderdrum answered before walking towards his friend.

Stoick helped his dragon carrying the dragoness onto Bonecrusher's back, they then flew to Berk together and into the academy, where Gobber and Astrid were waiting for them. "Take good care of her, Gobber." Stoick said as they lowered the dragoness to the ground in front of Gobber, Gobber answered him with a thumb up, Stoick smiled and looked at his dragon. "Now that your friend is in good hands, how about we fly around your new home, Thornado?" His dragon unfolded his wings in answer.

"Thornado?" Astrid asked curiously.

"Well, they say that Thunderdrum get their power from Thor himself, so I think it suit him." Stoick answered with a grin before taking off flying with his dragon.

Astrid grinned as she saw the Chief flew with his dragon, "As usual, once you taste the freedom of flying, you will never have enough of it." She said happily.

"How about we fly together, Astrid?" Hiccup offered his hand to Astrid, "I'm sure you've never flown on a Night Fury before, have you?".

Astrid smirked and accepted the offered hand and climbed on Toothless's back, "Don't hold back." She said confidently.

_"I sure won't."_ Toothless answered as he flew out of the academy.

"Hold tight, Astrid." Hiccup told her with a smirk on his face, "Toothless said he won't hold back!" That was the only warning Astrid got before Toothless shot up like lightning.

Astrid yelped in surprise as first and wrapped her arms around Hiccup, making the boy blushed at the contact, but once the shock wear off, she was grinning from ear to ear. "This is amaaaziiing!" She cried out in excitement.

Life was really easier and more livelier with dragons around, that, Astrid was certain as she threw her arms to her side as she enjoyed the speed of a Night Fury's flight for the first time, a bright smile adorned her face.

XXXXX

To be continued . . .

XXXXX

Froim : Please review ^ ^


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

* * *

**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

* * *

_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_[Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

Letter

**Emphasis**

_**Dangerous Tone**_

* * *

"Hiccup, I heard that the painting is done and is now displayed at the Great Hall." Astrid said excitedly as she entered the forge with a grin on her face, "Let's check it out!".

Hiccup smiled and put down the saddle that he was working on, "Alright, though I'm sure that Bucket has done a great job with our painting." He said calmly as he walked to Astrid before they walked side by side to the Great Hall.

It had been about a month after Astrid officially became the new Heir of Berk, and a few days ago, Stoick had told Bucket to make a painting of him, Hiccup, and Astrid together. Normally, only the Chief and his Son would be in the painting, but since Astrid was the Heir now, her picture was added into the portrait of leaders for their generation.

"It's a great honor to be the Heir, Hiccup, I can't thank you enough for choosing me to fill in your position." Astrid said honestly as she touched her new hooded fur coat, Stoick gave it to her before the painting was made, a present to congratulate her of her new position in Berk.

"I chose you because you are the best among the teens, you have the quality needed to be a good Chief, so there's no need for you to thank me." Hiccup answered casually as he opened the door of the Great Hall for her before entering the building himself, "If you want to thank me, just do it by caring for your people in the future".

"You sure have changed a lot, Hiccup." Astrid commented as they made their way to the painting, "Or maybe you were always like this, I just never paid attention to you." She finished sadly, she then frown when Hiccup didn't respond, normally the boy would say that he had forgiven her and told her not to think about it anymore. "Hiccup?" She questioned as she looked up at Hiccup, only to see the boy staring wide eyed at something ahead of him, "What is it?" She asked to no one as she followed his gaze, her attention caught by the new painting immediately. Something was wrong with the painting though, the Hiccup in the painting wasn't Hiccup at all, but a buff boy with Hiccup's face instead.

"What the . . . ?" Hiccup frowned at the portrait, he caught a sight of his Dad and walked to him, "Dad, what's with that painting?" He demanded immediately.

"The painting?" Stoick asked lightly in good spirit, "Bucket has done a great job, hasn't he?".

"That boy in there isn't me, Dad." Hiccup said to the point.

"Well, it's you, Hiccup, just bigger and stronger looking." Stoick answered casually with a laugh before going off to do his chiefing duty.

Hiccup huffed and looked around to leave, only to see something stuck out from behind one of the painting. "What is this?" He asked as he pulled the said item, that turned out to be a piece of paper with some kind of map.

"Oh no, you don't." Gobber's voice rang behind him before the paper was snatched from his hand.

"What is it, Gobber?" Astrid asked curiously as she stared at the paper in Gobber's hand.

"This is supposed to be already destroyed." Gobber said as he looked at the map, "Many have tried, and failed, and died to find this treasure".

"Oh, I know about it!" Fishlegs, who was eating nearby, said excitedly, he left his food and approach them, "It's the treasure of Himus the First*, isn't it? They said only the brilliant of mind can solve them".

**(*AN : I don't know the spelling, so I'm sorry if I got it wrong)**

"You're right." Gobber said as he waved the paper, "Stoick and I have tried to solve this, and we are lucky to make it back alive." He explained, gaining the other teen's attention, "This is too dangerous. For you good kids, forget you've ever seen this." He said sternly before walking away with the paper.

The teens followed him out but stopped when Gobber glared at them and settled with watching the man walked to his house, "You wanna go treasure hunting?" Hiccup asked the others without looking at them.

"Of course!" Snotlout said confidently while the twins nodded eagerly.

"But how, Gobber has the map." Fishlegs said nervously.

Hiccup smirked at him, "Sharpshot." He called out his tiny dragon, who flew to him and landed on his shoulder right away since his flock mates were never far from him, "Follow Gobber and took the map as soon as he isn't looking." He said to the green Terror.

_"How can I know that it's the right paper?"_ Sharpshot asked as he prepared to take off.

"I have touched it, even if it's for a second only, but I'm sure my scent is there." Hiccup explained with a smile as he scratched Sharpshot's head for a bit before the dragon took off to do as he was told.

_"Why do you need something like a map?"_ Toothless asked curiously, _"You already have a map, and you can always make a new one"_.

"Hiccup." Astrid called for Hiccup before the boy had a chance to answer his Brother's question, "It's because of the portrait, isn't it?" She asked in concern, "You know you don't have to do this, just talk to Stoick and he will understand. You know how he tried to be a better father for you, he will listen to you now".

"I know, Astrid." Hiccup answered with a calm smile, "I don't have to do this, but I want to, anyway." He looked back at the painting's direction, "I'm not doing this because I want to prove myself to him, but rather to my own self".

_"What are they talking about?"_ Cyclone asked as he landed near Flarestorm, he had just coming back from helping a villager cutting some trees for firewood and rebuilt a ship, which was destroyed not long ago from the twin's prank.

_"I don't know, I didn't pay attention."_ Thundress answered him before looking at the rest, _"Does anyone know what they are talking about?"_.

_"They are talking about the portrait, the humans painted the Red Big Chief's picture with Hiccup and the Valkyrie Girl."_ Rainleaf answered with a slight hiss in her tone, _"I have seen it, they draw Hiccup as a buff looking boy, I will say that it's not even Hiccup"_.

The dragons had given some people from the village a nickname. Stoick was the Red Big Chief, Astrid was the Valkyrie Girl, Gobber was the Funny Iron Hand, Snotlout was the Noisy One, Fishlegs was a Talking Book, the Thorston Twins was the Crazy Ones, and last but not the least, Hiccup was the Human Alpha.

_"What did you say?"_ Toothless growled in anger, followed by the rest of the flock, startling the teens, Hiccup excluded since he had heard their conversation.

"Calm down, guys." Hiccup said soothingly to them, they reluctantly quieted down.

"What's wrong with them?" Fishlegs asked nervously, his heart rate was still fast from the shock.

"You know how they made my picture as a buff boy." Hiccup explained to them, "By doing that, it's like they denied my existence. My flock mates are angry at them for my sake".

Sharpshot returned with the map and gave it to Hiccup, _"Is it the right one?"_ He asked as Hiccup looked at it.

"Yes, it's the right one. Thank you, Sharpshot" Hiccup answered him, "Let's see, clue number one : 'When the land meets the sea in the crook of the master's knee, that's where your search will begin' ".

"What the hell is that?" Snotlout asked in confusion.

"'The master's knee' . . ." Hiccup said in thought before looking back at the Great Hall, "Himus's painting, there has to be a clue in there." He said and lead them inside again, they looked at the painting carefully before Hiccup pointed out, "Look at the knee, it's bending towards the sea that has the rock that shaped like the one in the map, that's where we start." He said decisively and walked out in a fast pace, "Come on, guys, get your dragons." He said to the rest of the teens.

They flew on their dragons, with the rest of Hiccup's flock following in due to their curiosity, towards the sea where they found the rock with the same shape like the one in the paintings. They landed on the beach and Hiccup looked at the map again, "Okay, 'From here you will see the seeds that have been sown, look at where water turns to bone.' ".

"Water turns to bone?" Snotlout asked incredulously, "He must not been tried to make sense".

_"Not exactly, human boy."_ Flarestorm argued, even though all the others could hear was a simple soft growl, _"It called riddle, riddles don't have to make sense because it's their purpose, to confuse people"_.

"Why do I get a feeling like Flarestorm was answering Snotlout's comment?" Astrid asked with an amused chuckle.

"Because she did." Hiccup answered with a grin, "She said that riddles don't have to make sense because it's their purpose, to confuse people." He told them before looking at the sea, " 'Water turns to bone', like in . . . liquid to solid?" Hiccup's eyes snapped towards the mountain of ice, "The glacier, it's the answer!" He announced excitedly and took off with Toothless immediately, the others didn't have a choice but to follow him.

XXXXX

Meanwhile, with Stoick, he was currently glaring at the pacing Gobber, "You had the map and you didn't destroy it?" He demanded in annoyance, "What were you thinking, Gobber?".

"Hey, it's not my fault." Gobber protested, "I thought that if I hid it, then maybe we can try to solve it again later".

"Gobber!" Stoick exclaimed in shock and disbelief.

"We turned back too early, Stoick." Gobber argued, "We only lose a couple of toes".

Stoick sighed and stood up, "Forget it, let's just go and find them before they got themselves killed." He said as he headed for the door, "As much as I'm sure that Hiccup's huge number flock will be able to protect them, but I'm still worried. Why would he do something like this again?".

Gobber stole a glance at the newest painting in their collection, the answer was clear, Stoick was just too slow about his own Son sometimes until he couldn't see the answer that was right in front of his eyes.

XXXXX

Hiccup looked around the ice cave in awe, he had never seen anything like this before. _"Are you sure you are alright on your own in there?"_ Rainleaf's worried voice rang from outside, the dragons were waiting for them outside, except for Toothless since he need Hiccup to fly, not that Toothless would leave Hiccup's side even if he could fly on his own.

"Don't worry, Rainleaf." Hiccup answered her absentmindedly, "I'm not on my own, I have Toothless and my friends here".

_"Make sure to be careful, you are too accident-prone after all, Hiccup."_ Bonecrusher called out next, slightly teasing Hiccup, but his worry was clear.

"Shut up, Bonecrusher." Hiccup muttered in a slight annoyance, knowing that Bonecrusher was really worried about him.

"Hey, there's something in there." Astrid called out to the others as she pointed to the shadow of something under the icy floor, "How should we take it out?".

"Hm, this clue said that Freya will show the way." Hiccup said as he read the clue, though not all of them since he was sure the others, namely Snotlout and the Thorston twins, will get a headache from the riddle that was this long.

"I get it." Snotlout said cheerfully and began hitting the ice with his helmet, breaking it using force.

"I don't think it's the right-" Hiccup's words trailed off as he saw something that causing his eyes to widen, "Watch out!" He cried out and pulled Snotlout away from his spot, just in time to avoid the trap, late by a mere second and Snotlout's head would get smashed.

Chaos immediately exploded outside, _"What was that?!"_ Rainleaf cried out in worry, her voice was the clearest, because the rest soon came one after another until Hiccup couldn't really make it out.

"We are alright!" Hiccup yelled out to them before thinking about the clue, "We can't break the ice, using strength isn't the answer here." He told them seriously, "Think, 'Freya will show the way', what is Freya is associate with again?".

The answer came to Hiccup at the same time as it did to Fishlegs, "Fire!" They said aloud together.

_"You want us to fire?!"_ Flarestorm asked from the outside, followed by the others who had begun panicking after they heard the crash.

Hiccup sweat dropped, "No!" He yelled in exasperation, sometimes his flock get panicked too easily, but it was only when his safety was concerned so he couldn't complain, he know that sometimes he got a case of bad luck. "Freya is the Goddess of fire, that would mean . . ." He looked at Toothless and smiled, "Melt the ice with your fire, Brother".

"Brother?" The teens asked together.

Toothless ignored them and just breathed his fire to melt the ice.

"Brother by heart." Hiccup explained, "We care about each other like our own brother, so we call each other as our 'Brother'." He then looked at the ice when he heard Toothless's fire melt the ice, he carefully took the item inside.

"Is that the treasure?" Ruffnut asked as Hiccup inspected it.

"I don't think so, we are only at the beginning of this quest, there's no way the treasure will be here." Hiccup said as he stood up, "Maybe it's only a part of the key or something, it's only the first piece though".

Before they could discuss it more, they felt the ice mountain shook and looked around in shock. "Woah!" Hiccup gasped when he saw the cracking on the ice, "It's breaking apart! Toothless!" He climbed on Toothless and began flying, the other dragons heard the urgency in Hiccup's voice and flew in to get their Riders, for those who had a Rider (or Riders for Barf and Belch's case), and left in a hurry.

They looked back once they were in the safe distance and breathed in relief, "That was close." Astrid said more to herself, "We need to be more careful about the rest of this quest, guys, who knows what might happen".

XXXXX

"Night Fury prints." Gobber said as he knelt on the sand, he picked some of them and sniffed it, "About an hour ago".

"I never understand how you do that." Stoick grumbled from beside his dragon, "What does an hour ago smell like, Gobber?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not as strong as a half hour ago." Gobber answered with a shrug.

Their conversation was cut short when they felt a vibration from a distance, they looked at the source and saw part of the glacier broke apart and fell into the sea.

"They must have been gone there." Stoick guessed.

"The glacier." Gobber stated the obvious, "I knew it!".

"You knew it?" Stoick asked incredulously, "Then how come we spent a week digging in this sand?!".

"That was your idea." Gobber answered cheekily.

"Hiccup could figure it out in just one afternoon, and we took a month." Stoick said with wonder in his voice.

"Yeah, looks like a little Hiccup get the best of us." Gobber said sarcastically, "And we think we are the big, strong Viking." He said as he make pose of flexing his right arm without really flexing them.

"What are you getting at, Gobber?" Stoick asked with a frown.

"The portrait, Stoick." Gobber said with a sigh.

"Ah, of course." Stoick looked at the glacier, "He's trying to prove himself".

XXXXX

" 'At the edge of the world, amidst the raging sea. In the serpent's mouth, lies another key'." Hiccup read the next clue for them.

"Serpents." Tuffnut said more to himself, "I hate serpents, they are reptiles, right?" He asked his Sister.

"You do realize that you're sitting on one?" Ruffnut asked in answer, causing Tuffnut to mock cringe at Belch.

_"Why do humans like riddle so much?"_ Cyclone asked as shook his head, _"They are really confusing, makes my head hurts"_.

Hiccup chuckled and reach a hand to scratch his head, "Riddles are made that way because the human who make them don't want for the meaning to be easily understood." He explained as best as he could, "If you make a riddle to be easily understood, then the treasure you want to hide will be taken in no time".

_"I still hate them."_ Cyclone answered as he rubbed his snout to Hiccup's cheek to show his affection.

_"Does this serpent the riddle is talking about is one of the tidal class dragons?"_ Thundress asked curiously, _"If so, then we need Scauldia's help, she can ask her friends if they have something stuck in their mouth"_.

"I don't think so, Thundress." Hiccup shook his head, "The serpent in this riddle can't be a living being, or we would never be able to get the key. I think it means a non-living being that has the shape of a serpent".

"Hey, that cloud looks like a snake." Snotlout said, trying to gain their attention, as he pointed at the clouds.

"Yeah, and in five minutes it will look like a bunny." Astrid waved him off.

"But he got the idea." Hiccup argued her, "Look around guys, look for anything that look like a snake, except the clouds".

"Over there!" Fishlegs exclaimed as he pointed at the rock formation far ahead of them.

Hiccup looked at the rocks and compared it with the one on the map, "You found it, Fishlegs." He said excitedly and looked at Toothless, "Come on, Brother".

Toothless unfolded his wings and crouched down in preparation to take off, but Fishlegs caught Hiccup's hand, "Wait! Are you crazy?" The bigger boy asked when Hiccup looked at him, "You can't take a Night Fury with the wingspan of 48 and expect to hover against a wind like that, you'll be killed".

"But almost all of our dragon's wingspan is big." Hiccup said thoughtfully.

_"Not me."_ Meatlug piped in, _"Look at my wings, they are small but strong. We, the Gronckles, are the best when it come to hover in place against unexpected wind"_.

Hiccup blinked, "Then can I ask you a favor, Meatlug?" He asked with a grin on his face.

"Wait, you want us to go there?" Fishlegs asked in surprise, he looked down at Meatlug, "What did you say to him until he got that kind of idea, Meatlug?".

"She just pointed out that her wingspan is small enough for this task." Hiccup explained to him, "How about it, Fishlegs? Do you mind carrying me to over there?".

"I hate to mention this, Hiccup, but there's no more space in here." Fishlegs answered as he gestured to him and his dragon.

"Yeah, but you can carry me with a rope." Hiccup said as he pulled a roll of rope from his bag, his one year experience away from Berk had taught him a lesson to always be prepared for any kind of situation. "Tied one end around Meatlug and I will grab the other end, that way we can go together".

Fishlegs looked determined, "Let's go then." He said as he climbed off of Meatlug so they could tie the rope.

When they were ready, they took off towards the rock formation. _"Hiccup!"_ All his flock mates, minus Toothless, cried out with fear filled voice, _"What are you doing? That's extremely dangerous!"_ Rainleaf cried out with panic in her eyes, always the first to get worried because she was a mother hen towards her flock mates.

"Oh, come on." Hiccup groaned before looking pleadingly at his flock mates, "Give me some credit, will you? I'm not that useless of a boy, I can do this and get back perfectly safe".

_"But you are so tiny!"_ Bonecrusher cried out in worry, _"The wind can easily throw you like a helpless Terror!"_.

_"Hey!"_ Sharpshot cried out indignantly, _"Even a Terror can handle himself just fine against a mere wind!"_.

_"Shut up!"_ Toothless roared to them before they could fight among themselves, _"Just trust Hiccup."_ He glared at them, _"Besides, the boy won't grow if he never answer to a challenge, we can't protect him forever"_.

They fell into silence before Skyring looked at Hiccup seriously, _"Fine, you can go, but we will immediately go to rescue you if something wrong happens."_ He said sternly.

Hiccup nodded and smiled gratefully at them, "Of course." He answered before looking up at Fishlegs and Meatlug, "Let's go!" He told them with a determined expression.

Fishlegs might look determined before, but he was now looking all nervous and scared while trying to stay on Meatlug. "Oh Thor, oh Thor." He said with shaky voice.

"Keep her steady." Hiccup told him, trying to get the boy's mind off of whatever negative thought he had in mind.

"I'm trying!" Fishlegs squeaked.

They flew to the rock formation, Fishlegs and Meatlug above the rock serpent's head while Hiccup in front of the mouth. He tried to reach the key with his hand, but couldn't so he tried using his prosthetic. "Come on, come on." He whispered to himself as he tried to get the key, he narrowed his eyes in concentration and finally caught the key. He smirked and kicked his leg, causing the key to fly out of the mouth and then he caught it with his hand, "Yeah! Got it!" He exclaimed in triumph.

They flew back towards the rest of the gang, he put the key into his bag and climbed on Toothless. "Let's head for the next location." Hiccup said excitedly and immediately took off with Toothless, the rest following him.

"Hey, Hiccup." Ruffnut called him out on the way, "What are you going to do with your share of the treasure?".

"I'm not doing this for the treasure." Hiccup answered her with a shrug, "When I heard Fishlegs said that only the brilliant of mind can solve this, I got interested to try it, that's all".

"So, not because of the painting?" Astrid asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not at all." Hiccup answered with a smile, "If Dad won't change it within a week, I will just remake it myself and hid the painting with the real me somewhere my descendant could find".

_"Please don't hide the painting in a place where you have to solve a riddle in order to find it."_ Cyclone commented out of the blue, Hiccup only grinned at him and shrugged, _"I really hate riddles."_ He grumbled in the end, earning a laugh from all the dragons and Hiccup.

They arrived at the next location and Hiccup looked at the map, " 'The world is right when stars alight, when not in sync, the danger you'll find'." He read the next clue before climbing off of Toothless.

"Stars?" Snotlout said from his dragon, "I don't want to wait here until night time".

"It's not a real stars, Snotlout." Astrid answered him as she climbed off of Stormfly, "Just like water turns to bone, there has to be another meaning behind this riddle." She then looked at Hiccup, "What do you think about this riddle, Hiccup?".

"Why do you ask him?" Snotlout asked as he finally climbed off of Hookfang, "Maybe I know the answer." Astrid and Hiccup only stared at him and waited for him to say anything, "I said **maybe**, turn out I **don't**." He said in the end.

"Guys! Look at this!" Fishlegs, who already in front of the rock wall, called out as he traced his hands on the rocks, "There's a picture engraved to each stones".

"Look carefully for anything that look like a star then." Hiccup said as he walked to where Fishlegs stood.

"Got one!" Snotlout announced as he immediately pull the rock with the star on it.

Immediately, the wall trembled and some rocks fell from above them. "Put it back! Put it back! Put it back!" Fishlegs cried out in panic as Snotlout tried to push the rock back into place but failed.

"Hookfang!" Snotlout called out for his dragon, whose attention was caught by a falling leaf at the moment, "HOOKFANG!" Hookfang finally snapped to reality and pushed Snotlout aside before pushing the stone back into place with his snout.

They looked up and saw that everything had calmed down once again, "Okay." Hiccup breathed in relief before looking at the map again, "This said in sync. Find another star, we need to pull both of them at the same time." He told them while looking at the stones.

Astrid looked at the stones and pointed to the stone with another star on it, "Over there." She announced before smiling at Hiccup, who nodded with a smile.

"We need to pull them at the same time, right?" Ruffnut asked rhetorically as she stepped forward with Tuffnut.

They looked at Barf and Belch, Ruffnut pointed to one of the star while Tuffnut the other, then they made a motion of pulling it at the same time. Barf and Belch pulled both stones at the same time before stepping backwards, "There you go." The twins said before banging their heads together in celebration.

"Good job, Ruff, Tuff, and Barf and Belch." Hiccup said as the rocks pulled apart, revealing a secret passage behind it, he wanted to enter but then remembered his flock mates. "Alright. All of you, stay here." He told them firmly, "We don't have enough space for all of you in there, only Toothless with go with me".

They weren't happy, but they trust Toothless's ability to get them out safely, so they nodded in understanding and get themselves comfortable on the ground in front of the entrance. Hiccup nodded and entered with Toothless, with the teens and their dragon followed behind him.

"Wow, this is amazing." Ruffnut said as they looked around.

Once all of them entered though, the door closed on it's own. Toothless's eyes widened and he tried to see if he could open the door from inside, he found that the rock wouldn't even budge from his strength. _"We got a problem, Brother."_ He said unhappily to Hiccup.

"Oh, man." Tuffnut voiced their concern when they all saw the closed door.

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged look, they silently lead the way through the passage and grabbed a torch each when they saw them, their dragons light them up for them. They walked in silence until they arrived in a room where there's three short pillars with an item on each of them, "Uh, so hot." Snotlout grimaced as he looked around, "Do anybody else hot? Cause I'm really hot".

Tuffnut opened his mouth to answer, but whatever he wanted to say was cut off before he could even say them when Astrid called out in worry, "Guys, is it just me or the floor is moving?".

Hiccup lowered his torch onto the ground and saw many small forms running away from the fire, his eyes widened and moved the torch to another spot, only to receive the same result. "Ah, Toothless." He called out nervously, "Can you give us some light?".

Toothless answered by shooting his plasma blast onto the wall far ahead of them, lightening the room for a bit in the process. "That's why it's so hot in here." Fishlegs said as he looked at the floor, "It's Fireworm dragons!".

Tuffnut made a move to pick one of them, but Hiccup stopped him, "Their skin burn hotter than the sun." He said seriously.

"Oh really?" Tuffnut asked mockingly and raised one of them to his palm, "How hot can the sunlight be?" Just then, the Fireworm on his palm light itself on fire, causing Tuffnut to cry out in pain and dropped it.

The rest of the Fireworms began lighten themselves, and the gang was panicked at the sheer number of them on the floor, their panic was intensified when the Fireworms began moving to them. Toothless pulled Hiccup back and burn the nearest Fireworms, the rest of the dragons followed his lead and breathed their fire to the uncountable Fireworms who tried to get to the teens.

Finally, there's a space opened and Hiccup took the opportunity to walk over to the three items. "Grab them and let's go!" Snotlout told Hiccup in panic.

"No, we need to solve the clue first or we will only get ourselves in more trouble than now." Hiccup said calmly while opening the map, " 'Something pure and something strong, look first to yourself and you won't go wrong' ".

"Strong . . ." Fishlegs pointed to one of them, "That must be the iron one near the fire".

"But iron is not pure." Astrid argued, "Take the gold." She pointed to the gold one.

Hiccup ignored them and thought to himself, ignoring all the chaos around him.

"It's getting really hard to breath!" Astrid couldn't keep the panic out of her voice anymore.

"That's what you get when you nearly roasted alive!" Fishlegs squeaked and looked at Hiccup, "You have to make decision quick, Hiccup, we don't have much time!".

Toothless pulled Hiccup again and burn the Fireworms who were heading for them, Hiccup pat Toothless in gratitude before looking at the one in the center, " 'Look to yourself' . . ." Hiccup slowly walked to the one caught his eyes.

"Careful, it could be a trap." Astrid warned him.

Hiccup took a deep breath and picked up the key, as soon as he did, the Fireworms retreating and the ground gave away. "Woah!" He gasped as he fell.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled in horror.

Toothless, who managed to jumped to Astrid's place, saw that Hiccup had fell and jumped into the hole himself.

"We gotta get out of here!" Tuffnut cried out when rocks started falling on them, the cave was breaking apart.

"Through there!" Snotlout yelled as he pointed to an opening that lead to the outside.

"No!" Astrid yelled, "We are not leaving him!".

"If we don't go now, we all will be trapped." Fishlegs reasoned to her, "Then there's no one to help Hiccup".

Astrid gulped, her eyes widened in realization before narrowing in determination, she ran to her dragon and climbed on, "Let's get out of here!" She yelled as she took over the leader position – since Hiccup had fallen into the hole – and they flew out.

XXXXX

Hiccup groaned as he stood up, thankfully not a bone broken from the fall, but his body was sore as hell. "We need to find some way out of here." He said as he looked around the dark place, "But first, give us some light, Bro".

Toothless looked around for something to light up before finding the perfect one, he shot at the rock far from them.

The room lightened up and Hiccup caught a sight of a strange shaped hole on the floor, "I wonder . . ." He mumbled to himself as he traced the hole before reached into his bag, he pulled the two keys he got before and combined them with the one he got just now, they matched perfectly. Hiccup put the now whole key into the hole and rotated it, a second later, a pillar rose from the ground where the key was and an entrance opened at the far end of the room. "Let's go." He said to Toothless and walked to the entrance.

_"Don't, it could be dangerous like before."_ Toothless said in worry, his tone was pleading as he didn't want anything to happen to Hiccup.

"Well, we have come this far." Hiccup said apologetically, sometimes his curiosity got himself into troublesome situation, but he couldn't help it.

Hiccup walked towards the entrance and Toothless followed reluctantly.

XXXXX

"Keep digging!" Astrid grunted as she picked a stone and threw it away, and kept repeating the process. Fishlegs was beside him and did as she did, the stones he threw behind him was immediately eaten by Meatlug. "We need to find them!".

"Find who?" Stoick's voice made them all froze, they turned around slowly and saw Thornado and Grump landed before Stoick and Gobber climbed down from their dragon's backs, but when Stoick saw that all of the teens was there without Hiccup, and all of Hiccup's dragons desperately trying to dig the rocks, a sick feeling settled in his gut. "Son." He said with dread filled voice.

XXXXX

"Is there an end to this tunnel?" Hiccup asked to no one in particular, then, as if to answer him, he saw the exit, "Come on." He said and hastened his pace, the exit led them into a big room with many treasure, "Finally, we arrive at the end of our adventure, Brother." He said as he walked to the center of the room where a pillar stood with a scroll on it.

_"Finally, indeed."_ Toothless breathed in relief, _"Promise me you will never go treasure hunting ever again"_.

"I can't promise anything, I love solving riddles." Hiccup answered cheekily as he picked the scroll before taking a good look on it, " 'This treasure is passed from Father to Son. I leave it to you, the next worthy one, for only a hiccup could get this far. From one to another, be proud of who you are'." His eyes widened and he immediately unrolled the scroll, "Look!" He said excitedly as he showed it to Toothless, "Himus the Second was a hiccup, just like me." He said with a wide grin.

_"It's true."_ Toothless purred, _"His painting was made as a buff boy too, isn't it? I guess he did as what you are planning to do if your Dad won't change your painting"_.

Hiccup chuckled, "I guess." He said in agreement as he looked around the room, "He knew that only one of us, a hiccup, can find this place".

_"Do you want to take the treasure?"_ Toothless asked as he looked at the pile of gold nearby.

"Nah, leave them be." Hiccup said nonchalantly, "The only treasure worthy of taking is this scroll, I couldn't care less about the gold stuffs".

The pillar moved down, and two other pillars rose a meter from the center, one of them held a feather while the other held a hammer. There's an instruction on the floor, but Hiccup didn't bother to read it when he could feel the room trembled. "You've got to be kidding me." He said in bored tone when rocks began falling again.

_The Feather or the Hammer, which one would lead to the surface?_ Hiccup thought with a smirk as he glanced at the two items.

XXXXX

"Argh!" Stoick yelled as he threw one particular big rock, "Keep digging! It's my Son in there!".

The dragons reacted to it first than them, at once they turned to a spot far behind Stoick before the humans even felt the vibration. They turned to where the dragons were looking and watch with wide eyes as the ground breaking apart, "Hiccup." Stoick whispered in growing fear and worry. They all ran towards the place, and once the smoke disappeared, they saw Hiccup holding up a feather.

_"We are out."_ Toothless purred happily as he looked around.

Hiccup looked at the feather and smiled, "A hiccup will always choose a feather over a hammer which he has no way of lifting." He said before noticing the others with his Dad among them.

"Son." Stoick said in relief and ran to get to Hiccup.

"Hey, Dad." Hiccup greeted casually before running to Stoick as well, with Toothless right on his heel, Stoick hugged his Son tightly once they met in the middle, "Uh, Dad, can't breathe." Hiccup said with difficulty.

Stoick let Hiccup back to his feet and smiled apologetically, "Hiccup!" The teens had just arrived and welcomed him with many reaction, like saying that it's a relief that he was okay (Astrid), asking him what had happened (Fishlegs), even asking where the treasure was (Snotlout).

Hiccup showed them the drawing on the scroll, "This . . ." He looked at his Dad, "Is Himus's real Son".

"That's not a treasure." Snotlout complained.

"For you, maybe." Hiccup answered calmly as he looked at the scroll, "This is passed down from a hiccup to another hiccup, it's a treasure for me".

"Hiccup, I'm sorry for the painting, but you don't have to do this just to prove yourself." Stoick said as he placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder, "The one I'm proud of is the real you, not the painting".

"I know, Dad." Hiccup answered with a smile, "I was just curious and want to try solving the riddle".

Stoick chuckled, "Always the curious one, aren't you?" He asked happily, "That side of you never change, even from when you were a mere babe".

Hiccup blushed and opened his mouth to retort, but he didn't have the chance as his whole flock mates buried him with their slobber as they licked him to death. "Euh, guys!" He protested as he tried to push them away, but pushing one dragon was hard enough, let alone his whole flock mates which consisted of 8 dragons in total, at the moment.

_"Don't scare us to death like that ever again!"_ Rainleaf said in relief.

_"We thought we lose you, both of you."_ Thundress said as she rubbed Toothless's head with hers.

"Alright, I'm sorry." Hiccup apologized as he patted them one by one, making sure he left no one untouched, "I will try not to do anything reckless again, but no promise".

The next day, the portrait in the Great Hall changed into a new one, the Hiccup on this one was the real Hiccup and not a buff boy, and when Hiccup showed his flock mates the new paintings, they snorted and nodded in approval.

_"Our Little Hiccup is always the best."_ They said at once, much to Hiccup's embarrassment, he was thankful that the people didn't understand Dragonese.

XXXXX

To be continued . . .

XXXXX

Froim : Please review ^ ^


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

* * *

**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

* * *

_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_[Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

Letter

**Emphasis**

_**Dangerous Tone**_

* * *

Toothless looked up at the clear blue sky with his toothless smile, a happy aura surrounding him and he couldn't keep still so he ended up running to Hiccup's room. _"Brother, Brother!"_ He called happily as he nudged Hiccup with his head, _"Come on! Wake up, wake up! Let's go flying!"_.

Hiccup moaned softly as he opened his eyes with much difficulty, "I'm sorry, Toothless." He apologized before he caught in a fit of cough, earning a concerned croon from Toothless, "I would love to fly with you, Bro, but I'm not feeling good today." He explained before closing his eyes again.

_"Not feeling good?"_ Toothless asked in worry as he licked Hiccup's head, his eyes widened when he felt how hot Hiccup was, much hotter than his normal temperature. _"Wait here."_ He said as he carefully pulled Hiccup's blanket to fully cover the boy's body, _"I will get some help."_ He then took off running to Stoick's room, but stopped as he remembered that the man had gone flying out early that morning, so he ran out of the house instead.

_"All of you!"_ He roared to the village, gaining the attention of every dragon in the whole village, _"Hiccup is sick!"_.

_"Hiccup is sick?!"_ His main flock mates screeched in shock and worry.

_"Human Alpha is sick?!"_ The dragons of Berk, his Berk Nest flock mates, cried out in shock and worry as well.

_"If you know who the Healer is, get them over here!"_ Toothless roared above all of their screech.

_"My Rider is a Healer!"_ A green Nadder named Emerald, Emma's dragon, answered him, _"I will wake her up!"_.

Even so, there's no need to wake anyone up anymore, because the second Toothless roared and causing the dragons to screech, the people of Berk had woken up right away.

"What happened here?" Astrid asked as she yawned, "Why are you all so noisy this early?".

_"Astrid, Human Alpha is sick!"_ Stormfly answered her, although all Astrid heard was only a worried squawk.

Astrid caught the worried tone though, "What is going on here?" She asked with a frown as she tried to think what could cause the dragons all riled up like this.

"Woah! What happens here?!" Emma's voice caught her attention, she looked at the source and saw that Emma was being pulled by her dragon towards Hiccup's house, "What's wrong, Emerald?!".

Astrid was a smart girl, when she heard Stormfly's worried tone, she know right away that there's something wrong. Not only Stormfly though, all the dragons were riled up, so she guessed it has something to do with Hiccup because Hiccup was the dragon's Alpha along with Toothless. So, combined the fact that there's something wrong concerning Hiccup with the fact that Emerald tried to pull Emma towards Hiccup's house, she come with a worrying conclusion.

"Emma!" She immediately called out once she understood what possibly happened, "Don't fight her! She want to bring you to Hiccup, something must have happened to him!".

_"Bless Thor that the Valkyrie Girl is smart."_ Toothless said before running back to Hiccup's room to make sure that the boy was alright.

Emma's eyes widened as she heard Astrid's words, she looked at her dragon and the dragon nodded to her in confirmation. "Ruffnut! Get my medical supplies ready and bring them to Hiccup's house!" She yelled as she climbed on Emerald, since running would have taken too long, "Let's go, girl." Emerald squawked her affirmative and flew to Hiccup's house as fast as she could, once they arrived, Emma climbed off of Emerald and ran to Hiccup's room. She saw that Hiccup was sleeping on his bed with sweat covered his face, so she quickly made her way to the boy and felt his temperature. "He's hot." She said to herself before checking the boy's condition.

"Mom." Ruffnut's voice rang as the girl entered the room with Astrid, "I bring your herbs".

"What's wrong with Hiccup?" Astrid asked in worry.

Emma finished checking Hiccup and sighed, "He caught a cold." She said softly, "Fortunately, he only need to drink the medicine and get plenty of rest".

"That's good." Astrid exhaled in relief.

Emma nodded, "Help me make some soup, Ruff." She said as she prepared the medicine for Hiccup, "Astrid, keep an eye on him, don't let him out of that bed if not for bathroom business".

"You can count on me." Astrid promised with a smile before looking at Toothless, who was looking at Hiccup in worry with his head on the bed beside Hiccup, "Don't worry, Toothless." She said as she rubbed his head, "Hiccup is a strong willed boy, he will get better in no time".

_"Still, I can't help but worry about him."_ Toothless crooned sadly, he licked Hiccup's forehead again, _"Get better soon, Brother"_.

Astrid sighed softly, "I told him that he shouldn't fly in a storm." She said softly to herself as she remembered what had happened the previous day.

The previous day, a rainstorm hit Berk, causing the people to lock themselves in their houses. Stoick couldn't cook and Hiccup can only grilled something without burning it and couldn't cook anything fancy, so Keila, who knew of their situation, came over with Astrid and Elga so she could cook for all of them.

Hiccup was worried and often looked out into the storm. When they asked him why he was so worried, he told them that he was worried for his dragons. It seems that Thundress and Flarestorm were flying in the storm, Thundress was a Skrill so it was understandable, while Flarestorm just had a strange liking to fly in the storm. Hiccup tried to take his mind away from Thundress and Flarestorm, knowing that they would be fine, but it wasn't an option anymore when they heard an angry roar of a Skrill who wasn't Thundress.

Stoick and Astrid tried to stop Hiccup when the boy wanted to go out into the storm, but Hiccup said that he couldn't just stay while his flock mates might be in danger, it's his duty as the Alpha to protect his flock. So, the boy and his Night Fury flew out into the raging storm to find out what had happened, turned out that Thundress had accidentally crashed onto another Skrill and got into a fight with the temperamental dragon. Hiccup's whole 'main' flock fought together and drove the other Skrill away, even Rainleaf who was scared of the storm due to her traumatic experience which led to her crash landing onto Hiccup's island.

Unfortunately, they found out that lightning was attracted to iron that day, because a lightning hit Toothless's prosthetic tail fin and Hiccup's fake leg, causing him and Hiccup to fell into the sea. Thankfully Bonecrusher was quick to get them out of the water before they could drown, or brought into random place due to the uncontrollable waves of the sea. Stoick was worried about Hiccup, but Hiccup said that he was alright, only needed to replace his prosthetic leg and Toothless's tail fin.

Astrid was soon pulled out from her thought when she heard a noise, she looked at the doorway to see Emma returned with a mug in her hands while Ruffnut carrying a tray with a bowl of chicken soup and a mug of water. They woke Hiccup to help him eat his food and drank his medicine, Astrid also helped wiping Hiccup's sweat with a cloth and removed what was left of Hiccup's prosthetic.

"Alright, let the lad rest." Emma said once they were finished, "I will check once in a few hours, you both can go do whatever you want, Toothless alone will be enough to keep watch on Hiccup." She looked at Toothless, "Isn't that right, Toothless?".

_"Of course."_ Toothless nodded before climbing onto the bed and carefully curled around Hiccup, thankfully Hiccup's bed had been upsized so Toothless was able to do it.

For the rest of the day, Toothless kept a close watch on Hiccup, Astrid would visit every hour to make sure Hiccup didn't need anything, and Emma checked on Hiccup every few hours and informed Toothless or Astrid about Hiccup's latest condition. When Stoick was home at the evening, he also stayed in the room and make sure that Hiccup was comfortable.

All in all, that day was uneventful aside from the ruckus the dragons made when they found out that Hiccup was sick. The same couldn't be said for the next day though, because the next day was the day Trader Johann visited Berk.

"Ah, Berk!" Trader Johann exclaimed as soon as he docked, "My favorite village to trade with".

"Welcome, Johann." Stoick welcomed him with a one armed hug.

"Long time no see, Chief Stoick." Johann greeted back before gesturing to his ship, "Please look around, maybe you will find something that catch your interest".

"Actually, this sword already caught my interest the second you docked." Stoick said as he picked the sword then proceed to try it out, "This is good, what should I trade for this?".

"Ah, Chief Stoick, you don't have to trade." Johann answered easily, "I'm just happy that I can trade here".

"You will always be welcomed here, Johann." Stoick answered as he walked to his dragon, "I will be back in 5 days".

"You really had make peace with the dragons, huh?" Johann commented in awe, "I heard your Son had return and he was the one who made this possible, I see that it's true".

"Yes, it is." Stoick confirmed proud fully as he climbed on Thornado, "If you are interested, I'm sure you can find a dragon for yourself, Astrid can help you with it".

"I will just let the fate decide it." Johann answered with a chuckle, "So, where is Master Hiccup? Usually he would always come here, aside from the past year when he disappeared".

Stoick sighed and looked at his house longingly, "He is sick at the moment." He said sadly, "I want to stay and make sure that he's alright, but I have to go somewhere else." He then cheered up a bit when he heard a distant roar from his house, he recognized the tone as a scolding one, must be Toothless scolding Hiccup when the boy tried to get out of bed, "I'm sure he will get better soon enough, he is in good hands- err, claws".

"Claws?" Johann blinked, "Oh, his dragon? I heard he trained a Night Fury, I'm sure such a strong dragon can protect your Son perfectly".

"Indeed." Stoick nodded in agreement, "Although, he is as strong as he is a mother hen, not to mention the rest of his dragons." He chuckled before patting Thornado, "Come on, boy".

Thornado growled softly in answer and they soon flew away.

Johann watched Stoick left before welcoming the rest of Berkians, "People of Berk! You are welcome to look around." He gestured to around his ship, "Whatever you are looking for, I'm sure you will find it here".

One by one, the people entered the ship to look around, some of them couldn't find what they want to trade, but many more find what they were looking for.

"Do you have an ink?" Astrid asked trader Johann as she scratched Rivera's head, "Hiccup told me that he need it, so I think I will get some for him".

"Of course I have one, although it's the last one, so you are lucky, lass." Trader Johann grinned at her and offered a small clay bottle, "Here, it's the best around the archipelago".

Astrid took it from trader Johann before pulling out her simple yet extremely sharp dagger, "Would this be enough?" She asked as she offered the dagger, "I made it myself, not as good as Hiccup's creation though, but I can say that Gobber approved of it".

Johann took it and inspected it for a bit, "This is enough." He said before raising an eyebrow, "I didn't know that you can do blacksmithing, Astrid".

"When Hiccup was gone in the past, I helped Gobber out." Astrid answered proudly, "That dagger was the first thing I made, but I definitely put my all on it".

"As expected from you." Johann complimented.

Astrid smiled before walking over to her dragon and climbed on, "Come on, Stormfly." She said softly, "Let's give this ink to Hiccup before he convinced Toothless to let him come here by himself".

Stormfly squawked in agreement and took off towards Hiccup's house.

"What a magnificent sight." Johann commented as he saw many dragons around the village working together with the people, he was surprised when he saw the Skrill and the Boneknapper though, they were rare breed dragons after all.

"Johann." Mildew's voice caused him to turn around, "Do you have it?".

"Ah, always to the point, Mildew, I like that." Johann said as he approached the old man, "Of course I got it." He showed the bag to the man, "Do you have my cabbage?" Mildew pointed to their feet, where a basket of cabbage sat, "Perfect." He said as he pick the basket before walking away to put them inside the ship.

XXXXX

"Hey, Hiccup." Astrid greeted as she entered the room.

"Hey, Astrid." Hiccup greeted back from his spot on the bed, "What's bring you here?".

"Can't just come to visit my friend?" Astrid teased him as she walked over to the bed, "I came to bring you this, the ink that you said you need." She said as she placed the ink on the small table beside the bed.

"You don't have to do this, you know?" Hiccup asked with a sleepy smile, "Thank you though, I really need it".

"You're welcome." She answered with a smile as well, "Rest up, I'm going to the academy." She halted midway to the door to look at Toothless, "Come with me, Toothless, you need some fresh air".

_"I don't want to leave Hiccup's side."_ Toothless grumbled as he didn't move from his spot.

"I'm fine on my own, Brother." Hiccup said softly as he rubbed Toothless's head, "I won't leave the room anyway, that cold medicine make me sleepy".

Toothless locked gaze with Hiccup before he nodded and followed Astrid out of the room.

Astrid, Stormfly, and Toothless went to the academy and entered in time to see Tuffnut setting a statue in the center of the arena, "Wow." Astrid commented as she took a good look, "You traded it from trader Johann?".

"Yeah, how's that look?" Tuffnut answered as he leaned on the statue.

"It's beautiful." Ruffnut answered him.

"Did you guys get them just for the academy?" Astrid asked curiously.

"You wanna know it's purpose?" Tuffnut asked, earning a raised eyebrow from Astrid, "Duck!".

"What?" Astrid asked in confusion, but when she saw Barf and Belch got ready to shoot, she jumped out of the way.

The shot hit the mark and created a small explosion, but the statue was intact.

"That-was-awesome!" Snotlout said in awe, "I wanna take a shot." He then climbed on Hookfang, "Fire!".

Hookfang shot at the statue, then a chain reaction happened because Stormfly then shot her spikes at the statue, then Meatlug followed suit. Toothless also get ready to shoot, but at the last second, he sneezed and his shot missed the target. "You missed?" Astrid asked in surprise, "You never missed your target".

Toothless rubbed his nose with his paw before sneezing again, this time his fireball shot at the wall behind Snotlout.

"That's strange." Astrid said in confusion.

"Doesn't he ever cover his maw when he sneezes?" Snotlout complained.

"Don't be ridiculous." Astrid frowned, "It never happened before. Stormfly never get sick all this time, so I thought all dragons has a great health until they never get sick".

Toothless sneezed again and his fireball shot at the ground below him.

"Could he catch Hiccup's cold?" Tuffnut asked curiously.

"I don't think so." Fishlegs answered him, "If it's so then all of Hiccup's dragons should sneezing as well, they always stay near Hiccup".

"But only Toothless who fell into the sea with Hiccup in that storm." Ruffnut retorted.

They thought that only Toothless who caught the same cold like Hiccup, but they were shocked when all the dragons in the village caught the same sickness by the end of the day, even the powerful Boneknapper. Hiccup was already worried when he heard Toothless sneezing, he got even more worried when the rest of his flock caught the same sickness, and he forced himself to check on them himself, causing his own sickness to get worse.

"Hiccup, just leave this to me, you need to rest." Astrid said as she tried to get Hiccup back into his room.

"No, I can't rest when my whole Nest flock mates are in danger." Hiccup said weakly as he looked around the village for the possible cause of the sickness, his face got even paler and more flushed at the same time for every second he forced himself to stand.

"I know you are their Alpha, but if you are down because of this, then who will protect them?" Astrid asked him sternly, but her tone was worried, "Please rest, Hiccup, for them, if not for yourself".

Hiccup bit his lower lip, he felt torn inside. He knew that Astrid was right, they need him to be well in order to protect them, since even Toothless was sick, but he wanted to make sure whatever the cause of this sickness to be gone.

"Astrid, I . . ." He trailed off as he caught a sight of something that he knew very well would be the cause of this dragon sickness, but just as he walked over to get rid of them, his head chose that time to spin.

"Hiccup!" Astrid gasped as she caught Hiccup before the boy could touch the ground, "What did I tell you?" She scolded him as she helped him up and wrapped his left arm around her shoulders, "Come on, let's get back".

Hiccup's vision was blurred, but he still lifted his hand and pointed at the flowers, but before he could say anything, everything blackened.

Astrid saw Hiccup pointed to the flowers before the boy went slack in her grip, she know then that the boy had fainted. She didn't know what Hiccup tried to tell her, but she didn't think much of it because her first priority at the moment was to get him back to his bed.

She carried Hiccup to his room and laid him down onto his bed, she then gently moved Hiccup's wet hair away from his forehead. Hiccup opened his eyes for a bit from the action, "Rest, Hiccup, and get better soon." She whispered softly as she gently squeezed his hand, wordlessly, she turned to left, but Hiccup's hand caught her.

Astrid turned back around to Hiccup and leaned close to hear what the boy wanted to say, "Don't let . . . any dragon . . . come to Berk." She frowned and opened her mouth to ask what he mean by that, but she saw that Hiccup had passed out again, it must be hard for him to stay awake.

She sighed and covered Hiccup with his blanket before walking out of the house and towards the Great Hall where all the dragons was kept, so they could keep an eye on them, their fire had become so weak from the sickness that they didn't worry about them burning down the Great Hall.

"Gobber, how can we stop this sickness?" She asked when she saw the man sitting beside his dragon while petting him.

"I don't know, lass." Gobber said as he stood up, "But Gothi should know what to do".

"Go get her, Gobber." Emma said as she walked around to check on the dragons, she would try to make them as comfortable as possible, "I will take care of them for the time being".

Gobber nodded, "Come on, Astrid." He said as he walked passed her.

"I hope they will be okay." Astrid said softly, she was worried for the dragons, especially Stormfly and Rivera.

XXXXX

To be continued . . .

XXXXX

Froim : Please review ^ ^


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

* * *

**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

* * *

_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_[Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

Letter

**Emphasis**

_**Dangerous Tone**_

* * *

Astrid watched as Gothi checked on Toothless, who insisted to wait on Hiccup's side even when he was sick, by opening his eyes and mouth. Gothi's hut was nearer to Hiccup's house compared to the Great Hall, that's why they took Gothi to check on Toothless, instead of the other dragons in the Great Hall, so they could get their answer fast.

The elder woman looked thoughtful as she threw 4 bones to the ground, she looked at the bones and narrowed her eyes before walking to the special stone that Gobber brought with him, so the elder woman could write on it.

"She says that they are reacting to something, like an allergic." Gobber explained once he read what was Gothi wrote.

"Allergic?" Astrid asked with a frown, "To what?".

"To a mouse wearing boots." Gobber blinked, "Should be hard to find." He commented before yelping when Gothi smacked him with her staff, "I don't think that was right." He said as he rubbed his forehead, he watched Gothi wrote some more before realization dawned on him, "They are allergic to something new that had just come to the island".

"Oh, man." Fishlegs groaned, "There are many things on the island, trader Johann was just here".

Gothi wrote more and Gobber translated her, "She says we gotta get rid of everything." He told them seriously, "Immediately, or they will just gonna get worse".

Astrid covered her mouth with her hand, "No, Stormfly, Rivera." She said in horror at the thought of her dragons got even sicker than now, "I can't let anything happen to them." She said determinedly and stormed off to the door, "Come on, guys, let get rid of whatever the people had just trade from trader Johann".

"How should we get rid of them?" Fishlegs asked as he walked beside her.

"Dig a big hole and bury them all." Astrid decided, "The sooner, the better." She then looked at her friends, "You guys help Gobber to dig the hole." She said as she pointed to Snotlout and the twins, "I and Fishlegs will explain everything to the people".

It took a while for them to dig the hole and some more time to convince the people to get rid of whatever they traded from trader Johann lately, it's easier to convince the people who had bonded with a dragon, unfortunately the rest were not so, but they managed. Fishlegs tried to finish reading the book he traded from Johann first before throwing it away, but Ruffnut decided that he took too long to read and just threw the book by herself. Now that they had got rid of everything, they hoped that their dragons would get better soon.

The next day, they found that the dragons weren't better at all, they even got worse.

All of those who bonded with a dragon came to discuss about the current situation, "What should we do? The dragons aren't getting better, they are getting worse." Elga was the one who voiced their worry when they met up in front of the Great Hall.

"Let's make a list." Keila suggested, "Maybe there's somebody who traded something with trader Johann but didn't throw it away".

"Yeah." Emma suggested, "There must be somebody who doesn't want to give up what they've got".

"Alright, I will get the paper and we will write the names of everyone who traded something with Johann, try to remember who got what so it will be easier." Astrid said as she started walking towards her house where she kept some writing utensils, she halted in her steps though, when she heard a roar from the sky.

"Astrid!" Stoick called out as Thornado landed beside the Haddock house, "Where is Hiccup? Has he got better?".

"Not getting better, Chief." Astrid answered sadly as Stoick walked over to them, "He got even worse than before".

Stoick's eyes narrowed, "What? How did that happen?" He asked seriously with worry coloring his tone.

"All the dragons in Berk caught a sickness from an allergic." Astrid explained, "Hiccup forced himself to check on them by himself, his sickness got worse because of . . ." She trailed off and frowned when she remembered what Hiccup told her.

_[Don't let . . . any dragon . . . come to Berk.]_

" . . . it." Astrid's eyes widened in realization, she looked at Thornado and gasped, "Chief!" She looked at Stoick at the eyes, "He told me not to let any dragon come near Berk! You need to get Thornado out of here before he get sick as well!" She said urgently.

Stoick's eyes widened and he ran back to Thornado. If Hiccup said to not let any dragon come to Berk, he must know what caused this sickness, and the least he could do to protect his dragon was did as the boy said. "Thornado." He called his dragon urgently, "There's something in this village that make the dragons sick, you need to get out of the village for now. I will get you once we solved this problem".

Thornado's eyes narrowed slightly and nodded as best as he could, he looked around the village before growling softly at Stoick then flying away towards the sea.

Stoick watched his dragon went away before narrowing his eyes in determination, now that he bonded with a dragon and felt just how great to have Thornado as companion, he would do anything to protect his dragon. He walked back towards the group of Riders, "Tell me in detail." He demanded seriously.

Astrid told him everything, from when they found out that Toothless was sick to what Gothi told them about the sickness. "We're just going to write the names of the people who traded with trader Johann." She then said once she finished telling the Chief what had happened, "I think Hiccup know what caused this though, it will be easier if we just try to get him to tell us, but I don't think it's a good idea to bother him when he's that sick".

"I agree that we shouldn't bother Hiccup, but we need to move fast, or we will lose our dragons." Emma said seriously just as she came out from the Great Hall, she was checking on the dragon when Astrid informed Stoick what had happened, "I just checked them, they are worse than before." Her eyes saddened, "They are dying, if we wait any longer, they will die".

That information was like a sword stabbing at their heart. They never thought that there would be a day when they felt worry and concern for the dragons whom they fought for centuries, but everything had changed, dragons weren't their enemy, but their greatest companion. So, when they heard that their dragons were dying, not a single one of them who didn't feel worried and concerned for their reptilian partner.

"We don't have time, we need to talk to Hiccup." Stoick said decisively and walked towards his house, "Let's just hope that Hiccup is strong enough to talk".

They all walked with Stoick to his house, Stoick, Astrid, Gobber, and Emma entered the house while the rest were waiting outside. "Hiccup." Stoick called as he opened the door to his Son's room, only to have his eyes widened when he found that his Son was nowhere in sight, "He's gone!" He gasped in shock.

"What?!" Emma exclaimed in shock, "That boy was so sick, he shouldn't able to get out of the bed!".

Astrid ran into the room and looked around for any sign of Hiccup, but she didn't see the boy anywhere, she did saw Toothless, however, so she made her way to the black as night dragon. "Toothless." She called as she laid a hand on the dragon's head, "Where's Hiccup?" She asked urgently, but when Toothless didn't make any move or utter a single sound, she realized that they didn't have as much time as they thought. She stood up and looked at Stoick in worry, "Chief! Toothless is dying! Hiccup must be out in the village to get rid of the cause himself!".

"Quick!" Stoick called out as he ran, "Find him before he collapse from over exhaustion!".

The news spread like wild fire, the villagers all heard the news about Hiccup's disappearance and looked around for the boy, and they soon found him picking a bunch of a particular flower.

"Hiccup!" Stoick grabbed his Son and checked his temperature, "Oh, Odin, you are burning!" He exclaimed in horror, "We need to get you back to bed!".

"Dad." Hiccup grabbed Stoick's hand for attention, "I'm fine, I feels better now." He smiled a small smile to try and convince his Dad, but Stoick could tell that Hiccup was anything but fine and certainly wasn't better at all.

"You need to rest, Son." Stoick said softly but sternly, "We will find the cause of this sickness and heal the dragons, don't you worry".

"I can't just rest, Dad, not when my dragons are dying." Hiccup protested as tears began to fill his eyes, "Toothless and the others are already very weak, if I don't help them soon, they will die. I can't lose them, Dad, I can't lose my family".

"I know, Son, I know." Stoick said as he stood up with Hiccup in his arms, "We will help them, I promise, you just need to rest." He walked to his home but then remembered the reason why he wanted to talk with Hiccup in the first place, "Son, you know what's causing this?" He asked seriously as he halted in his steps.

Hiccup nodded and struggled to get out of Stoick's arms, Stoick finally let him go and helped him to walk back to the flowers, "These flowers are called Blue Oleander." He explained as he began picking them up and put them into some bags he had nearby, "Scauldrons like to eat them, but they are poisonous to other reptiles".

Astrid, who had been silent all this time, quickly put two and two together and widened her eyes in realization, "That's why you forbid any dragon to come to Berk, these flowers are poisoning them!" She exclaimed as she knelt beside Hiccup, "You pointed at them before, but I didn't think much about it because I was worried about you. Hiccup, what should we do about them? Do we need to get rid of them?".

"No." Hiccup shook his head, "We need them to lure a Scauldron out of the sea." He told her seriously, but his voice was much weaker than normal.

"Why is that, Son?" Stoick asked in confusion, but he helped Hiccup to pick the flowers and put them into the bags.

"Scauldron venom can counteract the poison from Blue Oleander, we can save the dragons with their venom." Hiccup explained while he worked, "But I don't understand, how come we have these flowers here?".

"Mildew." Tuffnut's voice answered him, Hiccup looked behind him to see the other teens were there as well, "He planted them after trader Johann left".

"And you didn't think that to be suspicious?" Astrid demanded, her worry and concern for her dragons make her more hostile than normal.

"No!" Tuffnut answered firmly, but then became uncertain, "Maybe. I don't know, stop questioning me".

"I want to have a talk with Mildew, but we don't have much time left." Hiccup said as he stood up once he finished picking up all the flowers, "You guys, burn them to ash, I won't take a risk of them growing back if we simply cut them off." He said to his friends as he pointed to the now flowerless bush, "Dad, please prepare a boat, I'm going off to find a Scauldron".

Stoick saw the look on his Son's face and recognized it as a stubborn determination look that he sometimes saw on his own face, he know then that there's nothing he could say to change the boy's mind, so he didn't bother to try since they didn't have much time left. "Alright, but I'm going with you, Son." He answered before running to the dock.

"Hiccup." Astrid grabbed Hiccup's hand to stop him from leaving, "You need to rest, don't strain yourself anymore, I will go instead".

"No, you have never faced a Scauldron before, I need to go." Hiccup answered before looking at Astrid sternly, "I need you to stay here and make sure our dragons stay safe".

"But, Hiccup." Astrid protested, but Hiccup placed a finger to her lips.

"I'm fine." He reassured her with a warm smile, "This cold is nothing compared to when I lose my leg, I will be fine, I promise".

Astrid knew that Hiccup was as stubborn as anyone else, but she never expected for the boy to be so strong, whether it physically or emotionally. She admired this Hiccup, this was the real Hiccup who was her best friend in the past. Not just a boy who was desperate to make his Dad proud, but a boy who will give his everything to achieve his goal, a leader who will protect his people no matter what.

She smiled and nodded, "I will wait for you then." She said with trust in her voice, she believed that Hiccup will return safely to Berk, to her. "Once our dragons are healed and you get better, let's spend time in the cove together".

_Is that an invitation to a date?_ Hiccup thought to himself with a happy smile, "Yeah, let's." He said in agreement before walking towards the dock as well, a determined look on his face even though his head was a bit dizzy from his cold, "Hang on, guys, I will definitely cure you all".

"Hiccup!" Stoick waved him over, "We are ready!".

Hiccup nodded and got onto the boat, "If I recall, we have one or two Scauldrons around Berk, so we don't have to go too far out." He explained as he leaned on the boat, his headache got worse than before but he tried to not thinking about it, "Two or three miles from Berk will do".

"Alright." Stoick answered and nodded to Gobber and the other two Vikings who will help them in this mission, he felt the boat began moving so he looked back to his Son, "Are you alright? Just rest for the time being".

"Yeah, I need to sit down for a bit." Hiccup answered with a nod and sat on the deck, "Once we get far enough, start throwing the flowers into the sea bit by bit while still moving, it will lead the Scauldron to us. Make sure we still have at least three bags left so I can try to bargain with the Scauldron".

"Can't you just train it?" Gobber asked curiously.

"It's not impossible, but training a Scauldron is harder than common dragons, it's just like training a Whispering Death, Screaming Death, a Snaptrapper, or even a Skrill." Hiccup answered as he looked up at the night sky, "When I met Thundress half a year ago, she nearly killed me, if it's not for Toothless and the fact that we have a common enemy, I wouldn't be here now".

Their interest perked up, "What happened?" Stoick asked as he sat beside his Son.

"Well, she heartbroken because a human army killed her hatchlings. Her Mate had gone to fight them when they first came, but he didn't return so she thought they had killed him, she herself was injured while trying to protect her hatchlings." Hiccup told them with a sad expression, it always hurt him when he remembered what had happened to Thundress, "She was in a rage and tried to kill them, they managed to get away but she didn't care, she was mourning the death of her hatchlings and the lost of her Mate. After she drove the humans away, she returned to her Nest and buried the bodies of her hatchlings, without giving a care to her bleeding wings.

"I was on my way to the Helheim Nest from Hunterville when we were attacked by the same army, we evaded most of the attack but a bola caught us off guard. I managed to cut the ropes and Toothless flared his wings in time so nothing dangerous happened, still, Toothless's tail fin had a hole on it when we hit a tree. Toothless can't fly with a tail fin like that, so we were trapped on the island, which happened to where Thundress's Nest was".

"Didn't you have Bonecrusher and the rest of your flock with you?" Gobber asked him, "You could get out of that island on any of their back, and Bonecrusher could carry Toothless".

"Yeah, I could if I have them with me." Hiccup answered with a sour smile, "I'm telling you, the Berserkers are out for a war".

"What?!" They gasped in shock.

"Impossible." Stoick shook his head in denial, "Oswald the Agreeable wouldn't start a war without a good reason".

"You don't know?" Hiccup asked in surprise, "I thought you would know about it, but Oswald had died, the cause is unknown".

"I haven't heard anything about it." Stoick said with wide eyes, "So, the Chief now is . . .?" He frowned in thought, somehow he couldn't remember what the name of Oswald's Son was.

"Dagur the Deranged, he is the Chief now, and he is as deranged as his title says." Hiccup answered with a scowl, "He went from a tribe to another asking if they want to keep the peace treaty, he demanded them to follow his command if they want to keep the treaty. As you can guess, they refused because they have their pride and no one would want to follow his crazy command. Needless to say, Dagur attacked them." He shook his head in disgust, "The other tribes are strong, they can hold their own and drove the Berserkers away, but Hunterville isn't exactly specialized in fighting, they are hunters. If it's not because they had make peace with the dragons, they all would have been dead by now." He looked at his Dad meaningfully, "Another reason why they want to have a peace treaty with Berk, aside from because Berk is my Tribe, they need help from a strong tribe like Berk in case the Berserkers attack them again".

"So, we might have to have a war with the Berserkers?" Stoick asked seriously.

"It's inevitable. Sooner or later, Dagur will come to Berk and ask you the same thing, and I'm sure you will refuse to follow his command." Hiccup explained to him, "When the dragons protected the people from Hunterville, Dagur wants to make dragons work for him, he want to turn dragons into his war weapon. Can you guess what kind of dragon he wants to control?".

"Skrill, I bet." Gobber grumbled.

"Yeah, Dagur attacked Thundress's nest because he want to control her and her Mate." Hiccup confirmed grimly, "Anyway, I found out about his attack towards the Hunterville when one of the dragons who live the their forest informed me about it, since I'm their Alpha. I and my flock went to Hunterville and helped them to rebuild the village, then I left my flock there to protect them while I went to the Helheim Nest to see if any of them want to have a Rider or just help me protecting Hunterville for the time being, that's when we got attacked.

"Where was I again? Oh, yeah. I didn't have Bonecrusher or the rest of my flock, and Toothless couldn't fly because his tail fin had a hole, so we were trapped on the island where Thundress's nest was. Since we were trapped for the time being, Toothless decided to go fishing so we can have something to eat while I went to explore the island, to see if there's something I could use to fix Toothless's tail. When I was walking around, I saw a trail of blood and followed it out of curiosity, the trail led me to where Thundress was and she attacked me right away.

"Thankfully, Toothless heard my scream and came rushing to help me, he explained to Thundress that we meant no harm and we're not enemy." Hiccup inhaled deeply and stood up, he turned to stare at the sea with a faraway look, "She didn't trust me at first, but she let me to treat her wound and care for her until she was back to her feet. As time passed by, she grew attached to me and treated me like her own hatchling, then when she heard that Berserkers were the one who attacked us, she told me about what had happened to her. About a week after I and Toothless met Thundress, Dagur and his army returned to the island to try to catch Thundress and Toothless. We were outnumbered, Thundress had run out of electricity in the last battle and Toothless couldn't fight to the fullest without an ability to fly, so we were cornered".

"How did you get out of that situation?" Stoick voiced the question, as the rest were too captivated by his story to ask.

Hiccup turned to his Dad and grinned, "My flock came to rescue me, along with the dragons from the Helheim Nest." He answered fondly, "Their Alphas had disappeared for a week, so they were out searching for us. When a few of them saw that we were fighting the Berserkers, they informed the rest and all of them came to help us fight off the Berserkers." He chuckled, "I still remembered Thundress's face when she found out that I and Toothless are the Alphas of a whole Nest, it's priceless".

"That information is definitely flabbergasting." Stoick said with a grin, "You didn't see Gobber's, Spitelout's, and Keila's face when I told them about it".

Gobber elbowed Stoick with a small scowl in response.

Hiccup smiled at them before sighing, his smile dropping. "I hope we can do this in time." He mumbled before looking at the sea again and noticing that they were far enough from Berk already, "Okay, time to work." He told them.

"Alright, start throwing the flowers to the sea." Stoick ordered the rest.

They started throwing the flowers bit by bit into the sea and waited for a Scauldron or two to come.

"Are you sure the Scauldron will come?" One of the Vikings asked, "We have been waiting for a half hour now".

"Patience is virtue." Hiccup said calmly while looking out for the Scauldron, "Scauldrons normally swimming at the bottom of the sea, so it will take a long time for the scent of the flowers to reach them. Just wait".

They waited some more before Gobber whistled, "It's a long time since I saw one of them, but Scauldron is really big." He said as he looked down into the dark water, since it's night time already.

"Hold on to the boat!" Hiccup yelled as he grabbed onto his Dad, since it would be useless to hold onto the boat with his current weakened state.

They were confused why they need to hold on, but they did as they were told. Hiccup was the one more knowledgeable about Scauldrons here, they didn't know anything since they never fought against one during the war. Soon, they found out why Hiccup told them to hold on, the Scauldron rushed to their boat and hit it from below, causing their boat to fly up and stay in the air for a second before falling back to the sea.

"That was a strong hit." Stoick commented as he grabbed his Son tightly, afraid that Hiccup would fall into the sea if he wasn't careful.

Hiccup saw the shadow of the Scauldron and got out from Stoick's hold, he picked up the three bags of flowers before throwing one onto the sea. "Don't attack us!" He yelled as loud as he could, "We just want to talk!".

Hiccup saw the head of the Scauldron swallowed the bag he threw earlier before rising to the surface and stared at him, _"Talking to humans is useless, you don't understand us."_ The Scauldron said as he tried to take the bags from Hiccup's hands, but Hiccup moved them out of the way.

"Oh, but I understand you." Hiccup said quickly as he moved the bags away from the dragon's mouth again, "That's why I said I want to talk, I understand you".

The Scauldron blinked before narrowed his eyes and looked at Hiccup thoughtfully, _"Who are you, boy?"_ He asked slowly, uncertainly.

"My name is Hiccup." Hiccup answered, "Now, let's just get to business because I don't have much time. Someone stupidly planted Blue Oleander in my village, and now all the dragons are sick, very sick." He offered the bags to the Scauldron, "I will give these flowers for you to eat if you let me get some of your venom, we need it to save the dragons".

The Scauldron was silent for a few seconds before sniffing at Hiccup, he backed away and blinked his eyes a few times in surprise. _"No wonder I thought I have seen you before."_ The Scauldron growled angrily as his eyes turned to slit, _"You're the one who kidnapped my Daughter"_.

Hiccup's eyes widened as he took a step back in shock, "Your Daughter?" He asked in surprise, "You are Scauldia's Sire?".

_"So you remember."_ The Scauldron hissed, _"You will pay for taking my Daughter away from me!"_ His mouth became round, a sign that he would attack soon.

"Wait! Wait!" Hiccup dropped the bags onto the deck and moved his hands frantically, "I didn't kidnap your Daughter!" But the dragon didn't listen to him, "Take cover!" He yelled in worry as he saw the water coming out from the back of the Scauldron's throat.

Stoick grabbed a shield and pulled his Son to him then covered them both with the shield, Gobber and the rest also protected themselves with a shield each.

"Listen to me!" Hiccup tried to reason with the dragon again, "I didn't kidnap your Daughter! She was the one who wanted to follow me after I calmed her down!".

_"Nonsense!"_ The Scauldron retorted, _"My Daughter is smart! There's no way she would do something as stupid as following a human! Humans always kill dragons!"_.

"It's in the past!" Hiccup yelled back, "Some of us who know of the truth behind dragon raid have stopped killing dragons! I and these people are one of them!".

_"I don't care! You are still taking my Daughter from me!"_ The Scauldron get ready to attack again, _"I will kill you for that!"_.

_"I won't let you!"_ Thornado came out from the sea suddenly and attacked the Scauldron with his sonic blast.

"Thornado!" Stoick called out in relief. He didn't know what was going on, one second his Son was talking to the Scauldron and the next second the Scauldron attacked them, he was relieved that his dragon came to their rescue.

_"Why are you protecting these humans?!"_ The Scauldron roared furiously at Thornado.

_"They are kind humans! They don't kill dragons anymore!"_ Thornado roared back.

Soon, it became a roar fight, the Scauldron would say anything and Thornado would retorted, Hiccup's head began aching from all the roaring and he couldn't catch everything that they said, but Hiccup knew that all of this happened was because of a misunderstanding. Stoick, Gobber and the rest could only watch as the two dragons roared at each other, they could tell that they were debating, but they didn't know what they were debating about.

With Hiccup tried to fight off his headache, the Vikings too perplexed by the sight of two dragons roaring at each other, and the said dragons busy yelling at each other, none of them noticed a younger Scauldron watching not far from them. The young Scauldron's head would move back and forth to look at whoever yelling at the moment, she wanted to ask them why they were yelling and attracting the attention of the other tidal class dragons, but she decided to just watched them and maybe she would hear something that would explain everything to her.

_"Move! I will kill that human boy!"_ The Scauldron roared as he turned his head to the boats again, _"He will pay for taking my Daughter away!"_.

_"I won't let you!"_ Thornado yelled back, they were back at square one now, _"I won't let you kill that boy!"_.

_"Why not?!"_ The Scauldron demanded angrily in the end.

_"BECAUSE HE IS **MY ALPHA**!"_ Thornado roared as loud as he could, he accidentally blasted the dragon with his sound wave, his anger towards the stubborn dragon cause him to lose his temper.

The sheer volume and force behind the sonic blast caused the Scauldron's head to move backwards for a bit, _"What?"_ The Scauldron asked incredulously, _"You chose a young and weakling boy of a human as your Alpha? Are you crazy?"_.

_"I'm not crazy, he is my Alpha, as well as the whole flock dragons from Helheim Nest, Berk Nest, as well as Hunterville Nest."_ Thornado explained to him, _"He is the partner of the Night Prince, who is also our Alpha"_.

Night Prince was what the dragons called Toothless, for he was the only Night Fury around, the only Prince of Night.

_"You have two Alphas?"_ The Scauldron asked with gaping jaws, even more dumbfounded by the seconds, _"And they don't fight for dominance?"_.

_"No, they never fight for dominance, they work together perfectly because they are two halves of the same soul."_ Thornado said with pride in his voice, _"You don't know their real strength, but we do, all of us are proud of them and we are proud to be a part of their flock"_.

_"You are crazy."_ The Scauldron hissed as he prepared to attack the Thunderdrum who was blocking his way, _"I will kill you if I have to, but I will kill that boy no matter what!"_.

Just as the Scauldron about to launch his attack, the younger Scauldron surfaced from beside him and blasted the older Scauldron with weak spray of water, not enough to hurt the older one, but enough to shock him and halted his attack.

_"What?"_ The older Scauldron shook his head and looked at who attacked him and widened his eyes in surprise, _"Daughter?"_.

"Scauldia!" Hiccup cried out in happiness, "You are back!".

Scauldia looked at Hiccup and her eyes brightened in happiness, _"Hiccup!"_ She greeted him happily as she nuzzled the boy lovingly, _"I'm back!"_.

"Glad to have you back, Little Auldy." Hiccup cooed softly with a warm smile as he rubbed her snout gently, "The flock isn't as lively without you with us".

Scauldia pulled back then gave the boy her version of a smirk, _"What? Miss me much?"_ She purred teasingly.

Hiccup blushed and looked away, "No." He said with crossed arms, but a blush could be seen coloring his cheeks, "Who say I miss you?" Scauldia snickered at his reaction, causing him to pout, but then he smiled again, "Yeah, yeah, I admit it. I miss you. Satisfied now?".

_"Very."_ Scauldia purred happily, _"If you didn't miss me then I will cry, Big Brother"_.

Hiccup and his dragonic Little Sister smiled at each other, but their little moment was shattered when they heard an angry roar, they turned their attention to the source and saw Scauldia's Sire was glaring at them in anger. _"Scauldia!"_ He roared at his Daughter, _"Why are you talking with him so casually? Moreover, why are you calling him your Brother?! Are you crazy?!"_.

_"You are the crazy one. Stubborn, crazy, Dad."_ Scauldia hissed in anger, _"How come you dare to attack him? That Thunderdrum had clearly said that he is an Alpha of three Nests, do you know how many dragons will come to hunt you down if you even as much as hurt his finger?"_.

_"That's nonsense, a lie."_ Her Sire hissed back, _"There's no way that many dragons would be stupid enough to make a human boy their Alpha, and the story of Night Prince is a lie as well, the Night Prince would never siding with a human! Don't you remember what had happened to his family?!"_.

_"It's not a lie."_ Scauldia answered coldly, _"I'm one of those dragons, even if you are my Sire, I will hunt you down if you hurt my Alpha."_ She then scoffed, _" 'Night Prince would never siding with a human?' Then what do you say about what we have seen all this time? All the dragons from Helheim Nest are the witnesses to the power of their Bond, they killed the wicked queen, they're the ones who freed the dragons from Helheim Nest"_.

_"Still don't believe us?"_ Thornado asked calmly as he saw the uncertain look from the older Scauldron.

_"It's hard to believe."_ The older Scauldron answered, _"It's just insane for a weak human boy to be an Alpha"_.

Thornado turned to look at Hiccup, _"How about you show him, Human Alpha?"_ He suggested as he landed on the deck of the boat, _"Show him that you really are our Alpha"_.

"Even if you want me to show him that I'm your Alpha, how can I do that?" Hiccup asked in confusion, "Only you and Scauldia who are here, the rest are back at the Helheim Nest or Hunterville Nest, the dragons in Berk Nest are out of option".

"How about those dragons, Hiccup?" Gobber, who was watching in silent with the rest since they understand nothing of what was they were talking about, asked as he pointed to a spot behind Hiccup.

Hiccup turned to look at what was Gobber mean by that and saw that a flock of dragons were flying towards them, his eyes widened when he saw the leader of the flock. "Sparker." He said in disbelief, "Why are the Commanders from Helheim Nest here?".

_"Who knows?"_ Scauldia would shrug her shoulders if she had them, _"At least now we can show my Dad that you really are our Alpha"_.

The flock arrived not long after, they hovered in place with Sparker the nearest to the boat and to Hiccup, _"Greetings, Alpha."_ He greeted Hiccup with a nod, he would bow if he was on land, but it's impossible to bow in air without ended up doing a loop, _"I'm sorry if our incoming had interrupt something, but we have a rather worry some matter that you and Night Alpha need to attend to"_.

Night Alpha was another nickname for Toothless. If the dragons outside their flock called Toothless as Night Prince, their Nest Flockmates called him Night Alpha while Hiccup was called Human Alpha, considering they have two Alphas.

Hiccup smiled at them, "It's alright." He said reassuringly. He had to be careful about what he said to his Flockmates, because sometimes an Alpha's word was a command for them, he could send his flock to death if he wasn't careful. "But I'm afraid we can't talk about this now, whatever this problem is, I have a more urgent matter that I need to attend as soon as possible." He explained quickly, "The Night Alpha is sick, along with the whole flock from Berk Nest. A really stupid human planted Blue Oleanders in the village without me knowing, they are dying as we speak, that's why I need the venom from these Scauldrons." He gestured to the two Scauldrons without really looking at them, "The problem is, the older one doesn't believe that I'm your Alpha and the Berkians don't kill dragons anymore".

_"Let's solve this problem quickly then."_ Sparker said as he looked at the older Scauldron, who grew nervous being stared at by all the dragons within sight, _"You say, Alpha?"_.

Hiccup inhaled deeply and turned to address his whole flock, "I'M YOUR ALPHA!" He practically roared at them.

_"HAIL TO THE ALPHA!"_ Sparker roared in answer, which answered by the whole flock roaring, _"WE FOLLOW OUR ALPHA FOREVER!"_.

"Whoa! What's going on?" Stoick asked in surprise, the Vikings could even feel their whole body vibrate from the sheer volume of their roars, he bet that even the people in Berk could hear the roars.

"They voiced their approval of me being their Alpha." Hiccup explained quickly before turning to Scauldia's Sire, "That aside, do you believe us now?" The older Scauldron gulped and nodded, "Good, we don't have the time for this, please open your jaw and let me extract your venom, I need it for the flock in Berk." He then turned to Scauldia, "You too, Little Auldy, I don't want to risk not having enough for all of them".

_"Sure, Brother."_ Scauldia answered with a nod.

Hiccup worked fast considering he got a massive headache from the roars earlier, he extracted their venom into a jar before handing the jar to his Dad, he then picked the two bags of Blue Oleanders flowers, "Here, for you." He said as he offered one for each of the Scauldrons, Scauldia ate happily from his hand but Hiccup had to throw the bag for the older dragon since he refused to eat from Hiccup's hand, "Scauldia, talk with your Sire and clear this misunderstanding about me kidnapping you, you can come to Berk after that." He then turned to Stoick and took the jar back, "Dad, I'm going back first, I need to give the dragons the cure as soon as possible".

Stoick nodded, "Hurry up then." He said seriously, "We will have a talk with Mildew once the dragons cured".

Hiccup nodded before turning to his flock, "Which one of you who can fly the fastest?" He asked to the point.

_"I am, Alpha."_ An orange colored Deadly Nadder answered as she landed on the deck before lowering her body so Hiccup could get on easier, _"Please get on, I will carry you back to Berk Nest as fast as I can"_.

Hiccup nodded, "Thank you, Citrus." He said while climbing onto her back, "Alright, let's go".

Citrus flared her wings and shot out to Berk's direction, forcing herself to fly even faster than she ever fly before, her worry for her Night Alpha's life along with her fellow Flockmates from Berk Nest gave her a boost of speed.

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To be continued . . .

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Froim : Please review ^ ^


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

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**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

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_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_[Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

"_Dragon language"_

Letter

**Emphasis**

_**Dangerous Tone**_

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As soon as Citrus landed in front of the Great Hall as was ordered by Hiccup, the Human Alpha jumped off the Nadder's back and stormed into the Great Hall, never minding the fact that his body felt so hot and his head ache so much. "Emma!" He yelled as he ran in.

"Hiccup! You're back!" Emma said in relief, "Did you get the cure?" She asked worriedly.

"Here, inside is the Scauldron's venom." Hiccup said as he handed the jar, "Add water in so all the dragons can have some of it, hurry!".

Emma ran towards the water basin and took a half full bucket of water, she then poured the venom into the water and mixed it with her hand. "Everyone!" She yelled to the Riders who were waiting beside their dragons, "Get a cup and help your dragon to drink it!".

They rushed to do as they were told, grabbing a cup and took some of the water, then carefully made their way back towards their dragons and helped them to drink it. Hiccup also rushed to the water basin and took a cup full of the water, but instead of walking carefully like the others, he poured it into a bucket before taking off running towards his house where Toothless was still lying in his room, but not before he asked Emma to help his other dragons to drink the cure first.

"Brother, Brother." Hiccup called softly but urgently as he shook Toothless's body, "Open your eyes, Bro, you need to drink this." He was actually very worried, from what he heard, Toothless was the one who caught the sickness first, he was afraid that Toothless's condition was worse than the other dragons who caught the sickness later on. "Come on. I beg you, Toothless. Open your eyes".

The desperation in Hiccup's voice caused Toothless to stir and opened his eyes a slit, _"Hiccup."_ He crooned so softly that it came out as a mere whisper.

"Brother." Hiccup said with a relieved sigh, "I have the cure, open your mouth for me, Brother".

Toothless moaned weakly, he felt his body very heavy and it's hard to move, but he forced himself to open his mouth. It's only a few inch apart, but it's enough for Hiccup to pour the water into Toothless open mouth and Toothless gulped it down.

Hiccup smiled in happiness, glad that Toothless had drank the cure. Now that Toothless had some of Scauldron's venom in his system, the venom would counteract the poison from Blue Oleander, his dragonic Brother would be up and about in no time. "Get some rest, Toothless." He whispered as he wrapped his arms around Toothless's head and pressed their foreheads together, "I will be here with you".

Toothless slowly but surely opened his left wing, _"You need to rest as well."_ He crooned softly.

Hiccup smiled and nodded in agreement before laying down beside Toothless, then leaned on him after getting into a comfortable position. Toothless then lowered his wing and covered Hiccup completely, hiding him from the world. They smiled at each other before closing their eyes and went to sleep, they can finally relaxed now, Hiccup because he had given the cure to Toothless while Toothless because he had Hiccup safe on his side.

XXXXX

Stoick, Gobber, and the rest of the few Vikings who had gone with them had finally arrived at Berk about half an hour after Hiccup returned, the Vikings who weren't waiting in the Great Hall for the dragons welcomed them.

"We're back." Stoick said as he got off of the boat, "How are the dragons?".

"They are getting better now, more responsive than before." Spitelout answered him before looking at the flock of dragons landing on the dock near Thornado, "Who are they? Another flock of dragons who want to have a Rider?".

"No. At least, I don't think so." Stoick shook his head as he also looked at the dragons, which were looking around and sniffing everything in curiosity, "Hiccup call them the 'Commanders' of The Helheim Nest. If I recall correctly, Hiccup mentioned something about a problem, so I think they are here to discuss something with Hiccup regarding a problem in the Helheim Nest".

"Where's Hiccup, Spitelout?" Gobber asked curiously.

"Ah, right." Stoick looked back at his Brother, "Where's my Son? I want to make sure he is resting and not going around checking on the dragons".

"You can rest assure that Hiccup is resting, Chief." Emma informed him as she walked over to them, "I had just checking on him, he is now sleeping under the cover of Toothless's wing. From the look of it, he will get better in no time now that the stress of having his dragons sick had left him".

"That's good." Stoick breathed in relief, he then looked at his dragon partner, "Thornado." He called the dragon over, "Can you tell the other dragons to wait until morning before they talk to Hiccup? He isn't well and need to rest. They are free to sleep wherever they want, as long as they don't destroy any house in the process." Thornado growled softly in response before walking over to the other dragons, Stoick then turned his attention to Spitelout, "I will be in my house if you need me".

"A minute, Stoick." Spitelout stopped him, "What should we do about Mildew?".

Stoick looked at him grimly, "I and Hiccup will have a talk with him in the morning." He told the man, "But keep an eye on him to make sure he won't do anything like this again".

"Understood." Spitelout nodded in understanding.

Thornado walked over to him after he told the dragons what Stoick said, then together they made their way to the Haddock house, with Stoick went in while Thornado settled on the ground beside the house.

XXXXX

The next morning, Hiccup's sickness had gone, thanks to the undisturbed sleep he had the night before, and all the dragons in the village had cured from the poison of Blue Oleander. The first thing Hiccup did when he woke up that morning was to meet the Commander dragons with Toothless and discussed with them about the problem. When the people of Berk saw it happened, they regretted what they had done to the boy in the past, and couldn't help but feeling disappointed.

They regretted that they had treated Hiccup badly in the past, they practically turned their back towards the boy just because the boy accidentally did something to cause a disaster. They had seen now just how great the boy really was, he was a good leader who cared for his people, if only they had taken the time to get to know the boy, they would see this side of Hiccup sooner. They were disappointed that Hiccup wouldn't become their Chief anymore, the dragons had taken the boy in when they foolishly drove the boy away with their cruelty towards the boy. It seems that compared to all of the destruction Hiccup accidentally created in the past, losing the chance of Hiccup becoming their Chief was their greatest loss yet, and they couldn't blame anyone but themselves.

"Son." Stoick called as he walked over towards Hiccup, who was watching the Commander dragons flew back towards Helheim Nest, "Is the discussion done?".

Hiccup smiled at Stoick, "Yeah, Dad, I got the main problem and a way to solve them." He explained before turning serious, "But this problem is not something that I can solve myself, at least, not without taking a long time. I need your help, Dad".

Stoick blinked before nodding, "Alright, we will talk about this tonight. For now, we need to have our talk with Mildew." He answered seriously, for he felt that at the moment he wasn't just talking to his Son, but to the Alpha of Dragons.

Hiccup's position among dragons was just like his own position among the people of Berk, they were both Leaders. So, when Hiccup talked to him seriously like that, just like when Stoick himself talked during the meeting between the tribes, he knew that Hiccup didn't need his help as his Dad, but as the Chief of Berk.

"Heh, I nearly forget about that old man." Hiccup huffed before looking at Toothless, "I will have a talk with Mildew now, why don't you check on our flock to make sure everyone has recovered from the poison?" He suggested casually.

Toothless smiled his toothless smile, _"Sure, just promise me you will make sure the point get across to that unpleasant man."_ He answered lightly, _"Oh, and don't forget about your date with Valkyrie Girl."_ He added with mischievous glint in his eyes.

Hiccup's cheeks were tinted with red, "Shut up, useless reptile." He muttered before nodding to his Dad, ignoring the snicker from his dragonic Brother.

They walked to Mildew's house some ways away from the village then entered the house without even knocking, they didn't think the man deserve privacy after what he had done, and if they caught the man in the act of something bad, it's a plus.

"What a surprise." Mildew said, feigning surprise about their visit, "What can I help you with, Chief Stoick?".

"Quit with the sweet talk, Mildew." Stoick said as he glared at the man, "You planted Blue Oleander in Berk, you have endangered our dragons".

"What do you mean?" Mildew asked with a fake innocent expression, "I planted them because I want to increase the beauty of this village".

"Oh, beauty, huh?" Hiccup narrowed his eyes with a cold smirk, "Since when do you care about beauty? Considering that there's no beauty in this dirty hut of yours".

Even though Stoick put a ... stoic expression on the outside, he was rather surprised that his Son could smirk coldly like that, he had never seen the boy wearing that kind of expression in the past. A year away from Berk could really change someone, he figured.

"Ah, you can't accuse me like that, Hiccup." Mildew countered, "I don't think I did anything wrong with planting some flowers in the village".

Hiccup smirked darkly at the man, "Who say I'm accusing you, Mildew? I just ask you about since when do you care about beauty." He said as he slowly walked over to the old man, "The fact that you said that I accused you to do something when I was just asking, is a proof enough that you planted Blue Oleander in the village while knowing of it's effect to dragons." Then, once he got close enough to Mildew, he grabbed the old man's clothes and raised the man up until his feet left the ground, "Listen here, old man. I don't really care whether you think you can deceive us or not, we know for a fact that you want to get rid of the dragons, so I won't bother with the boring questioning session. I will just get to the point." He released his grip and let the old man fell to the ground, he stared down coldly at him, "If you ever harm any member of my flock again, I will personally drop you off to Outcast Island. Be grateful, that punishment is so light compared to what the dragons would do to someone who endanger their existence : Get rid of them **permanently**".

With that, Hiccup turned his back towards the old man and left silently.

Stoick and Mildew looked at the boy's retreating back before Mildew looked at Stoick, "You will just let your son do this?" He demanded, "That boy is no one anymore, he isn't your Heir, you can't let him do anything he want just because he is your Son".

Stoick stared coldly at the old man, "You better heed to his warning, Mildew." He said lowly, "That boy just now wasn't the Son that I have any right to say what he should or shouldn't do, because that boy wasn't just my Son, but the Alpha of the dragons. Hiccup isn't a boy anymore, he is an independent Leader who will do what he think is the best to do for his 'people'. The Pride of Berk".

"And you will just let him threatening me, one of your own people?" Mildew demanded angrily, "You are the Chief of Berk, it's your responsibility to protect your people, and as far as I know, I'm a Berkian still".

Stoick simply glared at the old man, "I will protect my people, there's no question around it." He said with threatening tone, "If Hiccup threaten my people without reason, then I will act as a Chief, regardless of the fact that Hiccup is my Son or not." His eyes then narrowed as he looked straight at Mildew's eyes, "What you need to remember is the fact that you had just committed a treason by poisoning our dragons. I won't protect a traitor, so if you ever make a move to harm our dragons again, I will gladly give you to Hiccup and the dragons so they can punish you accordingly." He followed Hiccup's lead and left the old man without saying another word after that threat, leaving Mildew staring at his retreating back in disbelief.

XXXXX

"Astrid!" Hiccup called out as he entered the Cove, "Sorry, I'm late." He apologized sheepishly while walking to the girl, "Did you wait long?".

"Not really, don't worry." Astrid answered with a smile as she gestured to the spot across from her, an invitation for the boy to sit there.

Hiccup noticed that Astrid had set up a blanket on the ground as he sat across from her, "So, is this what I think it is?" He asked curiously as he looked at her.

"What do you think?" Astrid asked with a blush covering her cheeks.

"A date?" Hiccup guessed with a grin while blushing as well.

Astrid's answer was to pull a bag from behind her, "Kind of." She admitted as fished the contents of the bag, "I want to spend time with you, alone, so I thought we can have lunch together and then lazing around in here." She smiled at him, "After the scare from the dragon sickness, we deserve to have some relaxing time, don't you think?".

"Yeah, we all were worried sick for the dragons." Hiccup said in agreement as he helped her out by arranging the foods Astrid brought with her, "And I made you worried for me as well, I'm sorry".

"You are forgiven." Astrid answered with a cheeky grin, "Now, let's enjoy our lunch".

They shared a grin before digging into their lunch, which consisted of some pieces of cooked fish and chicken, some bread, and then some fruits for the dessert. They were silent while they eat, but the silence was a comfortable one, they simply enjoying each other company while taking in the calm atmosphere around the cove.

"So, Hiccup." Astrid said after a long time of peaceful silence, they had finished their lunch and was now watching the cove while leaning on a tree, "What's your favorite color?".

Hiccup looked at Astrid with a raised eyebrow, "Why do you ask that out of a sudden?" He asked curiously.

"Well, we are friends but we barely know each other." Astrid answered with a shrug, pretending that she didn't ask that because she wanted to know more about Hiccup so she could try to win his love, although a slight blush on her cheeks might give away her true intention, "I think asking questions is a good start to know about each other".

Hiccup hummed as he nodded in understanding, "Well, I like green and black, green because it reminds me of the forest where I love to spend my spare time in, and black because it's the color of the night sky. I love flying at night because the sky is so beautiful and the darkness of night always gave me a sense of protection, especially when I was flying with Toothless, because the darkness will hide us and no one can easily attack something they can't see".

"Except you." Astrid answered with a grin, "You shot down a Night Fury during night time, you hit something you couldn't see".

Hiccup winced. He still felt bad about it because he was the one who took away Toothless's flight, Toothless couldn't fly without him and it wasn't fair for Toothless. It's because he shot Toothless down that he could meet his brother, but he wished they would meet through a different way instead of him shooting Toothless down from the sky and ripped his dragonic brother's left tail fin.

Astrid noticed this and lowered her head in embarrassment and shame, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't say that." She apologized as she felt guilty for making Hiccup remembered something like that, it must hurt Hiccup so bad to remember that he was the reason his best friend couldn't fly.

"It's alright." Hiccup answered with a smile, "So, what about you? What's your favorite color?".

Astrid smiled back at him, "I like blue, especially the type of blue like the sky." She answered as she looked up at the cloudy sky above, "When I was flying with Stormfly in a rare times when the sky was clear and wasn't covered by clouds, I could see the blue sky and feel like I'm one with Stormfly and the sky itself. I feel free and no one can stop me." She looked back at him, "What do you do during your spare time?".

And so, they exchanged questions and answers, getting to know each other better and deepened their friendship, which later would grow more than that, they hoped.

"Wow, it's dusk already." Hiccup commented as he stretched himself, he felt stiff after sitting in one place for so long, he turned to Astrid and smiled as he offered his hand to help her up, "Let's go back." He suggested before remembering that he would discuss the problem with his Dad, "How about having dinner together with me and my Dad, Astrid?" He offered with a smile, "There's something that I want to discuss with you and Dad".

"Is it about the problem the dragons from the Helheim Nest told you this morning?" Astrid asked curiously as they walked back.

"Yeah." Hiccup confirmed, "I can solve it alone, but it will take a long time and I don't think I can have that much time. That's why I want to talk with Dad, as the Chief, and you, as the Heir of Berk, I need your help".

"Come on then." Astrid said with a grin, "The sooner we talk about this, the better." She then took off running, "Race you to the Great Hall!".

Hiccup blinked and watched the girl for a second before a grin broke into his face as he ran to catch up with the girl, "I won't lose in a matter of speed, Astrid!" He declared as he ran passed her.

XXXXX

To be continued . . .

XXXXX

Froim : Please review ^ ^


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

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**Disclaimer : I Don't own HTTYD!**

* * *

_Thought / Dreams / Event from the past_

_[Voice from the past]_

"Dialogue"

"_Dragon language"_

Letter

**Emphasis**

_**Dangerous Tone**_

* * *

_"I'm glad that everyone has recovered from the Blue Oleander's poison, but remember to inform me and Hiccup if any of you feel something strange or anything."_ Toothless reminded his Flockmates, he had finished checking everyone and was sure that all of them had recovered from the poison, but it's better safe than sorry.

_"We will, Night Alpha."_ The other dragons answered him.

_"Good."_ Toothless nodded as he satisfied with the answer, _"Well then, you are dismissed"_.

Toothless watched them flew off as pride bloomed on his chest. He was proud of his Flockmates, they wouldn't let a mere sickness from the poison to get their spirit down, they were up and about as soon as they feel better. He was still not used with that kind of feelings though, even after more than a year passed, he still felt as though this experience was new for him.

It's still hard for him to believe it himself. He was a lone dragon in the past, before he met Hiccup, but now he was one of the two Alphas who lead three Nests with his Brother. _So much can happen in just a year or so, huh_. He thought fondly as he slowly walked around aimlessly, silently watching everything that was going on around him, before suddenly a noise caught his attention.

Toothless turned to the direction where he heard the running footsteps and blinked when he saw Hiccup and Astrid ran towards the Great Hall, looking as if they ran all the way from the cove to the village. _"Hiccup!"_ He called out as he jogged to catch up with him, _"What's happen?! Forest fire?! Intruder?! What is it?!"_ He asked in worry. It's rare for Hiccup to run like that outside from training, so he was worried.

"A race happens, Toothless!" Hiccup answered but he continued running.

"I won't lose!" Astrid yelled as she ran passed Hiccup in a burst of speed.

"Let's see if you can win!" Hiccup answered as he ran passed Astrid, with a smirk on his face.

Toothless slowed to a walk as he watched them with a shake his head, _"Lover birds."_ He said in amusement before walking to follow them.

_"They are a match, aren't they?"_ Stormfly commented as she landed beside him.

_"Indeed, they are."_ Toothless answered in agreement, _"But I wish they will their feelings to tell each other soon, their courting just takes too long"_.

_"I agree."_ Stormfly answered before she nudged Toothless gently, _"How about a race to the Great Hall?"_.

Toothless smirked, _"You are on."_ He answered before they both took off running towards the Great Hall, because it would be unfair for Toothless if Stormfly flew and Toothless not.

"I win!" Hiccup cheered as he turned around and saw Astrid arrived just a second after him.

"Man, how come you are this fast even though you are one-legged?" Astrid asked as she panted heavily from all the running, "And how come you don't run out of breath?".

"It's all thanks to the training from Rugra and Ruby." Hiccup answered with a big grin, "I was a fast runner from the start, the loss of my leg did little to change that, all I need is a good prosthetic and I can run as good as when I still had my left leg. They saw this so they trained my speed even more, then they also trained me so I won't run out of breath too soon".

"I would like to have a spar with you sometimes." Astrid said with a smirk, "I wonder if you have become strong now under their training".

Hiccup grinned and opened his mouth to accept her challenge, but then they were knocked off balance when two fast blurs brushed passed them. They tried to get back their balance but couldn't, so they ended up falling on top of each other. Hiccup stared at Astrid, who had fallen on top of him, and they blushed deeply for their lips met.

_"Wow, that's Night fury for you, so fast."_ Stormfly squawked excitedly as they stopped running, _"Nadders are known as the fastest dragon on land, but you can match my speed easily!"_.

_"Well, the humans said that because they had never seen a Night Fury before."_ Toothless answered with a proud smile, _"But you are fast yourself, faster than the other Nadders I have raced within the past. I think you are as fast as Thundress, if not as fast as a Night Fury"_.

Stormfly squawked excitedly at the compliment, _"Thank you!"_ She replied happily before looking around, _"Now, where are our- oh . . ."_ She stared at Hiccup and Astrid, who were still on the ground and blushing while staring at each other.

_"Ah, finally."_ Toothless purred in amusement, _"I thought they would never finish their courting"_.

Hiccup snapped out of his daze and stood up, pulling Astrid with him, before glaring daggers at his Brother. "Shut. Up." He said through gritted teeth, but the blush on his face had softened the glare that he threw at the black dragon, who only smiled innocently in respond.

Astrid cleared her throat, "Um, let's go to the Great Hall and see if Chief Stoick is there." She suggested with a blush on her face as well.

"Yeah, let's." Hiccup agreed and they walked into the Great Hall as if nothing ever happened, but the blush on their faces still remained.

_"Stubborn."_ Toothless grumbled as he followed them into the Great Hall, earning a chuckle from Stormfly.

"Hey, Dad." Hiccup greeted his Dad as soon as he saw the man.

"Hey, Hiccup." Stoick greeted them with a smile before raising an eyebrow, "What's wrong, you two? Your faces are red".

"Nothing." Hiccup and Astrid answered at the same time, both too quickly, which ended up making their blush deepen.

"Suuure." Gobber, who was sitting beside Stoick, said teasingly.

"A-anyway!" Hiccup cleared his throat, "About the problem I need to discuss with you, Dad, can we talk about it now?" He asked his Dad, who nodded and gestured to the chairs nearby, silently telling them to have a seat. Hiccup and Astrid took a seat each with their dragons curling around their chairs, before Hiccup turned to look at Stoick seriously. "Dad, do you think you can hold a meeting with the Chiefs of the other tribes?" He asked to the point.

"Why?" Stoick asked in confusion.

"Well, Berk and Hunterville already stopped killing dragons, right?" Hiccup asked his Dad, earning a nod from Stoick, Gobber, and Astrid, "The problem is the other tribes still kill dragons, even after the raids stopped. I can't let this continue or the war could begin a new, so I need your help to get all the Chiefs here where I can talk to them at the same time".

"Is that alright though?" Astrid asked in worry, "We don't know how they will react, they might attack us without listening as soon as they saw the dragons".

"I have thought about it, that's why I and Toothless agreed that we need to hide the dragons, until after I finished explained to them that the war with the dragons is over." Hiccup answered her seriously before turning his attention to Stoick, "So, can you?".

"I can, but I don't know how to get them here without revealing too much." Stoick answered as he stroke his beard, "With Vikings, you need to tell them directly or they would never listen, and even then they rarely listen. I should know, I have a whole village full of Vikings".

"Just tell them in the letter that the war is over, you invite them to Berk so they could listen to the story of how the war ended." Hiccup suggested with a shrug, "I don't really know, it's more of your expertise than mine".

Stoick hummed in thought before he nodded, "Yes, I will get them here." He said in the end before looking at Hiccup, "It's sure would be bad if the war start again, but there's another reason you ask for this, isn't it?" He asked curiously.

"Yes." Hiccup admitted, "The dragons are running out of place to stay." He told them with a sigh, "They don't dare to go near the other tribes, because they run the risk of getting killed, so they all ended up either going to the Helheim Nest, the Hunterville Nest, or here at Berk. Right now, the number is manageable, but in a few months the three Nests will be full of dragons".

"Is it a bad thing?" Gobber asked as he scratched his chin, "I mean, with more dragons, we get more help in case we got attacked".

"Yes, that may be so, but the problem is with the food." Hiccup explained to him, "If the number of dragons in one area is too big, the fishes and other animals will leave that area to find a new place with less predators. Sure, the dragons can fly out into faraway place to hunt, but what about our fishermen? Or our hunters who relies on animals fur and hide for their trading?".

"Yeah, it would be very bad." Stoick agreed with a nod.

"That's why you need the other tribes to stop killing dragons, isn't it?" Astrid guessed, "You want to make sure the dragons can go to the other islands as well, so that this situation can be avoided".

"That's right." Hiccup confirmed.

"Alright then, I will tell them to come here." Stoick said as he patted Hiccup's shoulder, "We will help you with this, so don't hesitate to ask if you need help. Okay?" He asked his Son with a smile on his face.

Hiccup smiled back at him, "Okay." He answered, feeling grateful that he had supportive father and friends.

"How much time do you think we have until the situation got worse?" Stoick asked Hiccup, earning a confused look from the boy, "It will take a long time to sent messengers to the other tribes, then we need to wait until all the Chiefs arrived first before we explain, so we don't have to explain more than once".

Hiccup looked at Toothless, "How much time do we have, Brother?" He asked his dragon.

_"About three to four months, I think."_ Toothless answered thoughtfully, _"I'm not exactly sure because this thing mostly relies on instinct, but I think it's pretty much right"_.

"I see . . ." Hiccup nodded in understanding before looking at the rest, "Toothless estimate that we have about three to four months. Do you think it's enough time?".

"More than enough." Stoick stood up, "If we work fast, they will arrive about a month from today, one and a half at the most." He ruffled Hiccup's hair as he walked past the boy, "I will get us some dinner, do you want chicken or fish?".

"Ah, I will help you." Hiccup answered as he stood up, "What do you want, Astrid, Gobber?".

"Chicken, please." Astrid answered with a grateful smile.

"Same here." Gobber answered with a grin.

"Okay." Hiccup answered before walking together with his Dad.

After they ate dinner together, Hiccup sent Sharpshot to Hunterville with a message. He asked Rugra to come with Ruby for the meeting so he would have more support, as well as proof that working together with dragons was better than continuing to kill them. Hunterville had grown so much with the help of the dragons, especially after the attack from Dagur and the Berserkers. They were proof that everything would be better if they worked together with the dragons.

XXXXX

A month had passed after Stoick sent some villagers to be the messengers to the other tribes. They were sent to Bog-Burglars, Bashem Oiks, Meathead, and the Hysteric Tribe. Of course, they didn't sent invitation to The Outcast Tribe and the Murderous Tribe for the obvious reason that they were dangerous and Berk's enemies. They also didn't send the invitation to the Berserker Tribe and Lava Louts. For the Berserker Tribe, it's because Hiccup had seen that they couldn't be trust, and for the Lava Louts, they like to enslave people, so Berk didn't have any treaty with them.

Now, a month after the messengers took off, Hiccup held a meeting at Dragon Academy, where they normally held their Dragon Training.

"Alright, Riders! Listen up!" Hiccup called out once he had seen that every Rider in Berk and the ones from Hunterville, who had arrived a day before, were in the Academy, "A month had passed since our messengers go, the other tribes will come to Berk soon enough. I want all of you to not fly with your dragons, at least not until all the other Chiefs have come and listen to our explanation. We can't risk being seen as aggressive, it could lead to a war, so please don't go and flying around!".

Snotlout raised his hand, Hiccup nodded to let him to speak, "Can we at least fly at night?" He asked with a crossed arms, "I mean, they can't see us if it's night".

"No, it's risky." Hiccup answered firmly, "You forgot that dragon raids happened at night in the past, the other tribes don't know that the war is over, so they will be cautious and be on guard at night time more than day time".

"Then can't we just fly at day time?" Tuffnut asked in confusion, earning a sigh from the others.

"Tuffnut, if you fly at day time, you will be in plain sight." Hiccup answered him patiently, "It's out of option".

Ruby raised her hand this time, Hiccup gestured for her to speak, "Where are we going to keep the dragons?" She asked curiously, "Changewings like Breeze can easily camouflage themselves, but the other dragons cannot do the same".

"Good question, Ruby." Hiccup smiled at her before addressing the entire crowd, "Okay, I will tell you where the dragons are going to be. I already told them earlier, so they would be at their assigned place as soon as we heard the news of our guest's arrival." He unrolled the map of Berk and pinned it to the board that was located behind him, "Most of the dragons will hide in the forest, where they would be near the village but out of sight. For tidal class dragons, they would wait at the beach and near this cliff." He pointed at the beach and the spot where a cliff met the sea, just behind the Academy. "For Changewings, they would camouflage themselves and wait around the Great Hall." He then pointed at the surrounding of the Great Hall, "They will wait there, so make sure not to go there or you might bump onto them accidentally. It would seem as if you hit thin air, which would give away the Changewing's positions, so be careful. Alright?" He asked them with a smile.

"Is Toothless going to wait in the forest as well?" Astrid asked him curiously.

"No, Toothless and Rainleaf will be inside the Great Hall with me." Hiccup answered calmly.

"Wait, Hiccup!" Fishlegs gasped, "Isn't that very dangerous? What if the other Chiefs attack them?!".

"Calm down, Fishlegs, they will only with me at the day of explanation. They will be in the forest until then." Hiccup explained with a smile, "On that day, Rainleaf with camouflage herself so no one would see her, she is safe. As for Toothless-" Just as he said the name, Toothless came running into the Academy.

_"Brother, Scauldia said she saw Meathead's ship approaching."_ Toothless reported immediately, _"I already told the dragons to do as planned"_.

"Good." Hiccup said in relief, "Well, the Meathead is the closest to us, so it's normal if they arrived first. The rest might take more time, so please tell the others that they have to be patient and stay out of the village until further notice from me".

_"I know, I will tell them."_ Toothless answered sadly before he nuzzled Hiccup's chest with his head, _"If you have time, please visit us. I will stay near the cove with the rest of our main flock. Please be safe while we are away"_.

"Nothing will happen to me, don't worry." Hiccup reassured him as he pat Toothless's head.

_"I will miss you."_ Toothless crooned sadly.

"I will miss you too." Hiccup said with an apologetic expression, "I will visit whenever I can, take care, Brother".

_"You as well, Brother."_ Toothless licked Hiccup's cheek once before turning around and ran out of the Academy.

Hiccup inhaled deeply as he stared at Toothless's retreating figure. It's hard for him to be away from his Brother and flock, hard and painful, but it's necessary. He sighed once Toothless was out of sight before looking at the Riders, "The Meathead is approaching." He told them seriously, "Your dragons are already in their position, don't worry. Now, until all of the other tribes arrive, please refrain from talking about the dragons. If the other tribes ask how the war end, just tell them that everything will be explained once all the tribes arrive. Got it?".

"Yes!" They all answered.

"Good." Hiccup nodded and smiled at them, "Then, let's go and greet our guests".

They cheered and walked out of the Academy. Hiccup and Astrid walked side by side in front of the group, leading the people to the dock. Once there, they stood beside Stoick, so the people would know that their position were important.

Hiccup might not be the Heir anymore, for he had given the position to Astrid, but his status was still high in Berk. He was the Dragon Trainer, although the people of Berk called him 'Hiccup the Dragon Master', and he was one of the two Alphas of the dragons. He was as important as Stoick himself, a Chief in his own right.

Near them, Rugra stood with Ruby by his side. Actually, they didn't have to wait for Meathead's arrival like Stoick, Hiccup, and Astrid, but they waited together with Stoick and the rest of Berk anyway.

"Welcome to Berk, Chief Mogadon and Thuggory of Meathead." Stoick greeted them once they get out of their ship.

"Thank you, Chief Stoick." Mogadon answered shortly before his gaze locked at Hiccup, "Ah, I see that the lost Heir of Berk has returned".

"We will explain why my Son disappeared for a whole year after the rest of the tribes arrived." Stoick said as he gestured to the Great Hall, "For now, why don't we catch up at the Great Hall? Hiccup and Astrid will accompany your Son while we catch up with each other".

"Good idea." Mogadon answered with a smirk, "I would like to have an arm-wrestling contest with you later, Stoick, be prepared to lose this time".

Stoick smirked back, "Oh, I would like to see you try." He answered in challenge before the two laughed and walked to the Great Hall together, chatting lively on the way.

Hiccup, Astrid, and Thuggory watched the two Chiefs walked off before Thuggory turned to Hiccup. "Glad to know you are alive and well, Hiccup." Thuggory said as he shook hands with Hiccup, "The rumor said that you finally get eaten by the dragons, hence your disappearance, but I see that the rumor is wrong".

"Thank you for your concern, I'm glad that you are fine too." Hiccup answered with a smile.

Among the Heirs of the other tribes, only two of them who didn't bully Hiccup because of his skinny figure. Thuggory was one of these two Heirs, he was a mature and well mannered type, strange enough for a Viking, which was why they got along because they both were different from your usual Vikings. Even though they rarely meet each other due to the distance between their two tribes, it's safe to say that Thuggory and Hiccup were good friends.

"Hm, I see that you have grown as well, Hiccup." Thuggory said with a grin as he looked the boy over, he then frowned when he saw Hiccup's fake leg, "What happened to your leg?".

"Well, it's a long story, and it had something to do with the end of the war with dragons. You will know once the other tribes arrived, I don't want to repeat the story over and over." Hiccup answered calmly before motioning to Astrid, "There's something you need to know though, I'm not the Heir of Berk anymore. This is Astrid, she is the Heir of Berk now".

Thuggory's eyes widened as he heard the news before looking at Astrid in surprise, "How come? Why would Chief Stoick remove you from your position? It's your birth right to be the Heir of Berk's Throne." He asked Hiccup in confusion and disbelief.

"Well, I was the one who ask for this, and I was also the one who chose Astrid to fill in my position as the Heir." Hiccup told him with a shrug, "You will know the reason once you heard the story, but you have to wait until all the others arrived".

"I hate waiting." Thuggory huffed in annoyance.

Hiccup chuckled in answer, "How about I show you around the village, Thuggory?" He asked the older boy, "It's also a good chance for you to get to know Astrid. You two will be the Chiefs in the future, so it's good to build a good friendship with each other".

"Alright, let's start with the introduction." Thuggory offered his hand to Astrid, "My name is Thuggory, the Heir of Meathead. It's a pleasure to be your acquaintance".

"Astrid Hofferson, the Heir of Berk." Astrid answered with a smile as she accepted the offered hand, "Nice to meet you, Thuggory".

"Well, now that the introduction is done." Hiccup started as he gestured to the village, "Let's begin the tour." He finished with a smile.

XXXXX

After the arrival of Meathead tribe, the other tribes soon arrived at Berk. Following Meathead were Bashem Oiks and then Hysteric Tribe. The only one left was the Bog-Burglars tribe, and Hiccup was told to wait in the Great Hall so he could accompany the Chiefs and Heirs of the other tribes, while Stoick and Astrid waited at the dock for the Chief and Heir of Bog-Burglars to arrive. Fortunately, he had heard the news from Scauldia beforehand, so he had some time to hide Toothless and Rainleaf in the Great Hall before the other tribes came into the Great Hall.

"Hiccup!" Thuggory greeted him as soon as he entered the Great Hall.

Hiccup smiled at the older boy and walked over to him, "You seems to be in a good mood, Thuggory." He said in a form of greetings as he sat beside the boy. For now though, he would have to move after the Bog-Burglars entered the Great Hall.

"Well, I heard the Bog-Burglars will arrive soon enough." Thuggory said with a grin, "This means that you will explain everything to me soon enough, I don't have to wait for long anymore".

Hiccup chuckled, "Always impatient." He said teasingly.

"As if you aren't impatient yourself." Thuggory grumbled unhappily.

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked innocently.

"You are impatient yourself, when it's concerning blacksmithing." Thuggory answered before a mischievous smirk appeared on his face, "So, how is your progress with Astrid? You like her, don't you?".

"It's not your business." Hiccup said with a blushing face, earning a chuckle from Thuggory, before they both looked up when they heard the door to the Great Hall banged opened.

Standing at the door was a blonde haired Viking with a pair of blue eyes that were in deeper blue than Astrid's eyes, her hair was braided into many small braids, and a Claymore strapped onto her back. Her gaze locked at Hiccup before she ran towards the boy, "Hiccup!" She cried out as she forced Hiccup to get up from his sitting position by pulling at his shirt's collar, "What the hell do they mean by you are not the Heir anymore?!" She demanded angrily, "Don't tell me, do they finally kick you out of Berk?! If that's the case, let's go to Bog-Burglars! Even though you are a boy, we will let you live with us!".

"Calm down, Cami." Hiccup said with 'calm down' gesture and released his collar from the girl's strong grip, "That's not why I'm not the Heir anymore, calm yourself".

"Then explain!" She demanded furiously.

Cami, whose full name was Camicazi, was the Heir of Bog-Burglars and was another one of Hiccup's best friends. Different from his friendship with Thuggory, which happened because they were both unique for a Viking, Hiccup and Camicazi's friendship was started because they were both crazy geniuses. If Hiccup was known for his hobby of creating crazy invention, then Camicazi was known for her skill in burglary. She could steal something that people have on their bodies, and they don't even know that she had taken it until the said people looked for the said item. Of course, all of the Vikings of Bog-Burglars love to steal stuffs, but no one has the skill or the craziness to steal in a risky situation like how Camizazi usually love it to go.

"I will explain it when your mother arrived in here, along with my Dad and Astrid." Hiccup answered her with a smile before stepping away and gestured for her to take a seat, "I don't want to repeat the story again and again, so let's wait until everyone is present before I will explain everything".

Just then, the door opened again, slowly this time. Stoick, Astrid, and a tall woman with big boobs entered the Great Hall, followed by Gobber, Spitelout, and Snotlout. Hiccup waited until they all took their seats before walking over to his reserved seat and sit down, he nodded at his Dad to begin the meeting.

Stoick stood up and cleared his throat, "Alright." He began as he looked at all the Chiefs and Heirs available, "First, I want to thank you for coming to Berk, even though I'm sure you all are busy with your own duty as Chiefs and Heirs of your own tribe. I had told you in the invitation that we will have a discussion about the war against the dragons, and we will." He inhaled deeply in preparation of what was about to happen as soon as he tell them the news, "As you know, we have been at wars with the dragons for 300 years. Today, I invited all of you to Berk to tell you a wonderful news. Our war with the dragons is over!".

The reaction was instant.

"What do you mean it's over?!"

"The war is not over until all of those mindless beasts are dead!"

"How is it over so suddenly?!"

"Did you find the Nest and destroyed it?!"

"QUIET DOWN! LET ME SPEAK!" Stoick yelled against all the uproar.

They quieted down and looked at him in confusion, "Explain, Stoick." Big-Boobied Bertha, the Chief of Bog-Burglars as well as Camicazi's mother, demanded seriously, "Normally, I would assume that you have found the Nest and destroyed it, but considering we still have random dragons here and there, I'm guessing it's not the case. So explain, what do you mean by the war is over?".

"I know that explanation is in order, that's why-" Stoick looked at his Son and nodded, "Hiccup, if you please".

Hiccup inhaled deeply as he stood up from his seat, "I'm sure all of you have heard of how I disappeared from Berk for more than a year." He began as he looked at each of them straight in the eyes, to show them that he wasn't intimidated by their presence or stares, "The reason why I left Berk unannounced was because I **wouldn't** kill a dragon." As soon he said that, they began murmured with each other, "Yes, you heard me right, I wouldn't kill a dragon. So, when I was chosen to kill the Monstrous Nightmare at the end of Dragon Training in Berk, I left to find a way to end the war against the dragons. Not by the usual 'find the nest and destroy it' way, but by finding out why they were raiding us and solved it".

"How do you achieve it though?" Mogadon asked incredulously, "Dragons are mindless creatures, we can't talk with them or anything".

"Chief Mogadon, please refrain yourself from saying that dragons are mindless creatures again, I took offense from your false claim." Hiccup said coldly to the man, he didn't glare or even raising his voice, but cold tone was enough to tell them that he was not going to tolerate what the man had said.

Mogadon stood up and glared at Hiccup, "Who do you think you are, boy?" He demanded angrily, "You are not a Chief, you aren't even the Heir of Berk anymore. You don't have the right to talk to me like that!".

"Oh, is that so?" Hiccup asked calmly with a raised eyebrow before he snapped his finger.

Toothless immediately jumped out from his hiding place, up on one of the rafters that supported the Great Hall, and landed silently behind Hiccup.

"Hiccup!" Camicazi gasped as she jumped from her seat, "Watch out! There's a dragon behind you!" She warned as she pulled out her Claymore from her back.

"Calm down, Camicazi, he is my dragon." Hiccup said calmly as he looked at all of the Chiefs and Heirs available, who also had jumped out of their seats in shock and reached out for their weapons, but none of them make any move to attack because Hiccup was standing in front of Toothless. Finally, his gaze locked with Mogadon's, "As you can see, he is a dragon. Let's see how he will react if you dare to insult the dragons anymore, Chief Mogadon, but don't you dare to say I didn't warn you." He was silently daring the man to say that dragons were mindless creatures again, but the man was wise enough to shut up.

"Wait!" Camicazi raised her hand in 'stop' gesture, "What do you mean by 'your dragon'?" She asked in confusion.

"And what kind of dragon is it?" Thuggory asked nervously, "I have never seen any dragon that looked like that".

"**His** name is Toothless." Hiccup stated firmly as he looked at his best friend, "He is **not an 'it'**, and he is a Night Fury".

"Night Fury?!" Bertha gasped in shock, "The unholy offspring of Lightning and Death itself?!".

"Yes." Hiccup said shortly with his arms crossed, "Now, if you all please be quiet for a few minutes, I will explain everything." They all quieted down, but all of them were tense and they looked at Toothless warily, "Alright, so, I left because I wouldn't kill a dragon." He continued with a sigh, "First, I will explain how this is all begun. You see, during a raid about a year and a half ago, I shot down a Night Fury." He gestured to Toothless with his hand, "As you have known, I was known as Hiccup the Useless in the past, no one believed me when I said I shot down a Night Fury. So, I went to find him on my own with the intention to kill him, but when I found him tied by my bola and defenseless, I wouldn't kill him and decided to free him. It's because when I looked at him like that, I saw myself.

"After the first day of Dragon Training, Gobber, our teacher, said that dragons always go for the kill. This got me interested, if dragons always go for the kill, then why Toothless didn't kill me after I freed him? So I returned to the place I freed him the night before and searched for him. Crazy, I know, but it's me we are talking about." Hiccup shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, "I found him in a cove, he was trapped there because he lost his left tail fin when I shot him down. He saw me and once again he didn't kill me, he only watched me silently. The next day, I returned to the cove with a fish with me. When I saw Toothless, I offered the fish to him, but in doing so I revealed the dagger I have in my belt which caused him to growl at me. I threw the dagger into the lake, and I was amazed when Toothless stopped growling at me. That day was the day my bond with Toothless first started, but as you know, a downed dragon is a dead dragon, so I made him a prosthetic tail fin".

Toothless moved his tail in response, causing many of the Chiefs and Heirs to flinch, and showed them the prosthetic tail fin on his tail. The one Hiccup made the first time had burnt during their battle with the Red Death, so he made a new one for Toothless as soon as he could move around like a human being. The new tail fin was red in color, so they could see right away that one of Toothless's tail fins was manmade.

Hiccup smiled at Toothless before he looked at the others, "The tail fin worked, but I need to work it manually from his back, so we learned to fly together through trial-and-error. During this time, I found out many things about dragons that I tried with the dragons in the Training, which was how I ended up getting chosen to kill the Monstrous Nightmare. After knowing the other side of dragons, their true nature when they weren't raiding us, I didn't want to kill them. That's why I left Berk, aside to avoiding killing the Nightmare, I want to find a way to end the war without killing all of the dragons".

"I take it you found a way?" Camicazi guessed. She was the most open with the idea of dragon riding because she was as crazy as Hiccup, she love to pull a crazy stunt like him.

"Yes." Hiccup nodded in confirmation, "You see, after I left Berk, Toothless shown me the reason why the dragons raided us." He answered her before addressing the other Chiefs and Heirs once again, "There was this monster in the Nest, with a build that looked like a dragon, but with a monstrous size and had six eyes. This creature, which I called as Red Death, forced the dragons to feed her with our live stocks or they would be eaten themselves".

"Can't that Night Fury just kill her though?" Norbert the Nutjob, the Chief of the Hysteric Tribe, asked as he motioned to Toothless, "I mean, as the unholy offspring of Lightning and Death itself, he should be strong enough to kill this monster you are talking about".

"He couldn't, not alone at least." Hiccup explained, "This monster was as big as a mountain, she could eat at the very least three Nightmares whole at the same time. Sure, Toothless is strong, but his firepower wasn't enough to harm the even stronger body of the monster. He needed a good strategy to win, but it's hard to think of a strategy and follow through it when the monster tried to take over his mind, so he couldn't kill the monster on his own".

"If you don't believe him, I assure you that I had seen the remaining bones of this monster." Astrid said before any of them had the chance to speak, "When Hiccup was away, I found his book and learned how to train a dragon from it. I trained a Nadder and flew to the Nest after Hiccup told Chief Stoick that he would attack the monster, the remaining bones alone are as big as this Great Hall, so I'm sure the living monster would be even bigger than that".

"But you said your Night Fury couldn't kill this monster." Bertha said to Hiccup, "How would your presence alone make a difference?".

"We weren't alone." Hiccup answered her, "For two months, more or less, I gathered some dragons to help us killing the Red Death. I couldn't think of a good strategy if I didn't see the monster's full body, not just her head, so my dragon friends bought us some time which I used to analyze the monster. I noticed that the monster had wings, so I used it to our advantages. I and Toothless lured her into the storm clouds and attacked her wings in the cover of the clouds, which angered her because she let out a stream of fire into many directions. Toothless's prosthetic tail fin caught a fire that time, so we bait the monster to chase after us while we were diving to the ground. We flew straight in front of her, giving her the perfect opportunity to blast us with her fire, but that was what I was waiting for.

"I told Toothless to wait and once the monster was about to fire, I told Toothless to fire. Toothless turned around and shot at the gas that gathered in the monster's open jaws, making it explode from the inside, before we pulled out from our dive as soon as we saw the land. The monster tried to slow her fall, but Toothless attacks from earlier had weakened the membranes of her wings, so the wings ripped apart once the monster unfolded it." Hiccup walked away from them and showed his own prosthetic, "As you can see, we won the battle but not without a cost. When we tried to get away from her burning body, I and Toothless crashed onto her tail because Toothless's prosthetic had burned out. I didn't remember anything else after receiving the blow, I woke up in Hunterville with part of my left leg already gone".

Rugra stood up to get their attention, "Hiccup's dragons brought him to my village so we could save his life." He told them as he took over the explanation, "Before this battle, Hiccup had come to my village a few times and we like him, so his dragons brought him to my village. We are hunters and rarely had an encounter with dragons, so we didn't attack right away because we didn't know how. Turned out it's a good thing because Hiccup's Changewing friend put him down to the ground in front of me, I knew that he need an immediate help or he would die, so I took him to the healer in our village. I saw that the dragons didn't attack any of my people, so I told them not to attack the dragons unless they attack us first, which never happen." He then pointed to Hiccup's prosthetic leg, "Our healer found out that the bone of his lower leg had been crushed completely, there's no way to heal it then, so we cut it off".

"After Hiccup killed this monster, the raids have stopped, which I'm sure you have noticed from the lack of dragon raids in the past year." Stoick took over from there, "As you have heard, the dragons raided us because of this monster, and now that the monster had died, they didn't have any reason to raid us. The war is over, we don't have to kill dragons anymore".

"It's true that the dragons have stopped raiding us." Clirik, the Chief of Bashem-Oiks, confirmed, "But how will we know that the dragons won't kill us still? Even if they aren't raiding us anymore, they are still dangerous".

"In the past, Vikings said that dragons always go for the kill, but what do you see?" Hiccup gestured to Toothless, "Is my dragon killing someone now?".

"No, he isn't." Camicazi answered as she looked at Toothless with observing eyes, she put her sword back onto her back before looking at Hiccup, "Did you tame him or something?".

"I didn't tame him or anything like that." Hiccup smiled at her, "Dragons are intelligent creatures, they have mind like us humans do. They are also gentle by nature, so as long as you don't provoke them, they have no reason to attack you".

"What do you mean intelligent?" Mogadon scoffed, "They are dragons, they have instinct like any other animals, but not an intelligent like humans".

Toothless snorted in answer, _"He is in denial."_ He commented to Hiccup, earning a chuckle from the boy.

"What are you chuckling about?" Mogadon asked in annoyance as he glared at Hiccup, "Watch your tongue, boy, just because you have a tamed dragon behind you doesn't mean you can just act all superior!".

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at him, "I don't act like I'm your superior, I merely chuckled because Toothless said that you are in denial." He answered calmly, "And I need to make this clear, I didn't tame him, no one can tame a dragon as much as you can tame a Viking. Unless you break their spirits first, that is - which by the way, is an inhumane thing to do".

"Dragon can't talk, Hiccup." Thuggory said as if Hiccup was a confused boy who needed explanation.

"They can talk, in their own language. You just assume that they can't talk because you don't understand their language." Hiccup said calmly, doing the real explaining here, "I understand them, I don't know how, but I can understand them as soon as I woke up from my half-sleeping state after our battle with the Red Death".

"Do you have proof?" Mogadon challenged.

"You need proof? Fine then." Hiccup said calmly as he walked over to the window and opened it, "Sharpshot! Come here, boy!" He called out before his green Terrible Terror flew to him then landed on his outstretched hand. He scratched Sharpshot's head for a bit before returning to his seat and placed the dragon onto the table, "Since you need proof that they can talk, you need to see it by yourself." He looked at Mogadon with a smirk, "Said something to this dragon while I'm waiting outside, he will tell me what you said and I will say it out loud, so you can confirm by yourself that it's what you said to him".

"Talking to a Terror?" Mogadon asked incredulously.

"Don't worry, the dragons can understand Norse." Hiccup answered simply before leaving the Great Hall with Toothless following him.

"Stoick, your son has lost his mind." Mogadon said as he looked at the closed door of Great Hall where Hiccup had just got out from.

"He doesn't." Stoick answered simply, "All of the people from Berk and Hunterville have seen that Hiccup can really understand Dragonese, and that the dragons can understand us".

"If you are still skeptical, then just say something to Sharpshot." Astrid added with a smirk, "If you don't want to talk to a dragon, then anyone else from this room can do it".

"Then I will!" Camicazi raised her hand excitedly, "Can this Terror understand us though?".

"Just say something and you will find out." Astrid answered confidently.

"Then, little dragon." Camicazi stared at the green Terror with such intensity that Sharpshot took a step back from the Viking girl, "When Hiccup get back here, tell him that I want to have a dragon too! One that I can rides on!" She yelled in whisper.

"Is that it, Camicazi?" Stoick asked her with a raised eyebrow, Camicazi nodded in answer, "Alright then. Hiccup! Come in!" He called out to his Son.

The next second, the door opened and Hiccup walked in calmly with Toothless shadowing him as usual. "So, what's Mogadon said to you?" He asked Sharpshot.

_"Whoever is this Mogadon, he wasn't the one who talked to me."_ Sharpshot answered as he flew to Hiccup's shoulders, _"That girl, the one the Red Big Chief called as Camicazi, was the one who talked to me. She said that she want to have a dragon too, one that she can ride on"_.

"Ah, so it's not Mogadon but Camicazi." Hiccup commented before looking at his friend from Bog-Burglars, "Sharpshot tell me that you want to have a dragon too, one that you can ride on. Are you serious?" He asked the girl.

"Wow, that dragon really can understand Norse!" Camicazi gasped in awe before grinning at Hiccup, "Yes, I'm serious! I mean, it must be awesome to fly on a dragon! I'm sure no one but you and that Astrid girl have ever experienced it!".

Hiccup chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm, "I'm sorry, Camicazi, but it's not only Astrid and I who rides dragon." He told the girl apologetically, "More than half of the Vikings of Berk do, and nearly all of the people from Hunterville do as well".

"Eh?!" The other Chiefs and Heirs gasped in shock.

"Then, you too, Stoick?!" Mogadon asked the Chief of Berk.

"Yes." Stoick nodded proudly, "My dragon is a Thunderdrum, I named him Thornado".

"Where are these dragons then?" Bertha asked him, "We didn't see any dragon around when we arrived, do all of them in hiding like that Night Fury did?".

"Yes, I told them to hide because we don't want to appear aggressive to you." Hiccup answered her before Stoick could, "Most of the dragons are in the forest, but some of them stay within the village. You can't see them at the moment because they camouflage themselves, but there are 5 Changewings in the village, and one of them even in this Great Hall." He looked up and smiled at the spot where Toothless was hiding earlier, "Rainleaf, you can let them see you now." He then looked out of the window, "All of you too!".

Rainleaf let herself be seen by others before jumping off the rafter to land beside Toothless and Hiccup, there's a chorus of roar outside and they could see four other Changewings looked into the Great Hall from four directions around the Great Hall.

"Those Changewings are there the whole time?!" Norbert the Nutjob asked in surprise.

"Yes." Hiccup confirmed with a nod.

"And none of them attacked us." Bertha said in realization.

"Yes." Hiccup said again, with a smile this time, "They are not dangerous, we don't have to kill them. Instead of fighting them, working together with them will help you greatly, just like how they have helped Berk and Hunterville all this time".

"Are there more of them in here?" Camicazi asked as she looked around.

"All of them are in the forest at the moment, but if you want to see all of our dragons . . ." Hiccup looked at Toothless and nodded.

Toothless smiled his toothless smiled before let out a loud roar, _"OUR FLOCK! COME! OUR GUESTS WANT TO SEE YOU ALL!"_.

"Ow, my ears." Thuggory groaned as he covered his ears, just like all of the people in the Great Hall, "What was that for?" He asked Hiccup with a raised eyebrow.

"He was calling all of the other dragons to come here, to let them know that you want to see them." Hiccup explained as he motioned for them to walk out with him, "Come out and you will see".

They walked out of the Great Hall and were shocked to see the huge flock of dragons that had just come from the forest. It was as if they were in their Nest, which was really the case even though they didn't know it.

"Wow, so many." Camicazi said in awe.

"Yes, there are so many of them, but they aren't all of our dragons. There are still some more out there, watching our surrounding in case anything happens." Hiccup explained before looking at all of the Chiefs, "All this time, they were nearby and could kill you easily. If this doesn't prove that the dragons don't always go for the kill and not dangerous, then I don't know what will".

"Alright, we maybe don't have to kill them." Norbert the Nutjob looked at Stoick, "But what if you or Hunterville will attack us using them?".

"We will never do anything like that." Stoick said with a glare, feeling insulted because that question.

"So, are you afraid that we will attack you?" Hiccup asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"It's normal isn't it?" Clirik was the one who answered him, "I mean, your power to control them makes you powerful, it's normal if we will feel insecure".

"Don't be." Stoick answered simply as he looked at the other Chiefs and Heirs, "You have our words that we won't attack you without provocation." He stated firmly, with a nod from Rugra and Ruby to support his statement.

"If that's not enough for you . . ." Hiccup added with a smirk, "I'm willing to take students from your tribes under a few conditions".

"And what are these conditions?" Bertha asked him curiously.

"First, never betray your dragon." Hiccup stated seriously as he raised a finger, "Second, don't mistreat your dragon. Last, you will never use your dragon to conquer other tribes or anything like that. You can attack if you were attacked first, but never start the fight".

"And if we break these conditions?" Mogadon asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hiccup looked at Mogadon with a serious expression, "If you break these conditions, then I will take the liberty to punish you." He said coldly, "Either with a light punishment or a death punishment, I and Toothless will decide it according how severe you break these rules".

"Isn't that too harsh, Hiccup?" Thuggory asked with a 'calm down' gesture, "You can't possibly just kill someone because they mistreat a dragon, right?".

"I can and I will." Hiccup answered simply, but his eyes showed that he was serious about it, "You asked why I'm not the Heir anymore, remember? Now I will tell you why." He looked at all the Chiefs and Heirs right in the eyes, "I gave my birth right to Astrid because I already have my own people to care for, and my people are the dragons. That's why, if you hurt any of the dragons, I will punish you for it. Dragons are intelligent creatures with a mind and feelings like humans. I repeat, just like humans do! So treat them like you will treat your fellow humans, or I won't just stay still and watch!".

It was amazing how a boy whom they thought as useless at first, an embarrassment to Stoick the Vast, could said something with such authority that all the Chiefs felt as though their own authority as a Chief was challenged. They knew that Hiccup wouldn't challenge them for their position as Chiefs, but Hiccup's stance and the air surrounding him demanded that they respected his own authority, that they followed his rules and condition because he had a power over them when it's concerning dragons. It's unnerving how a boy like Hiccup could make them feel threatened like that, it left them speechless.

Hiccup saw how all of them stared at him in shock, so he cleared his throat to gain their attention and smiled to soften the effect of his words to them. "Whether you accept my offer to teach you how to train a dragon with these conditions, or just go back to your own tribe without accepting my offer, it's all up to you." He told them calmly, "I'm fine with anything as long as you stop killing the dragons. It's just like having a peace treaty with other tribes, but instead of with another Viking tribe, you will have a peace treaty with the dragons. Whatever you chose, you will still have the peace treaty with the dragons. Even if you refuse my offer, we still won't attack unless you provoke us, so it's alright".

Hiccup, Stoick, Astrid, Rugra, and Ruby were watching quietly along with all the dragons as the other Chiefs and Heirs discussed about it. They had explained everything and offered them the knowledge to train a dragon, all they need to do now was waited for them to give their answer.

Hiccup hoped they would accept his offer though, because then he would know for sure that it's safe for him to let some of his flock to stay on their islands. The distance between islands didn't matter for him and the dragons, they could get to each other within a few hours and kept in contact with each other. He just wanted to make sure that his flock's safety would be guaranteed when they stayed on the islands of the other tribes, which would happen if they accepted his offer.

Unfortunately, before the other Chiefs could give their answer to his offer, Stormfly landed in front of Hiccup and Toothless. _"Dear Alphas."_ She called out seriously, _"There's a sighting of Berserker ships approaching The Isle of Berk"_.

Hiccup looked at Stormfly with wide eyes filled with surprise, "Already?" He asked that so casually though.

XXXXX

To be continued . . .

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Froim : I'm sorry for the late update ^ ^ Review Please ^ ^


	19. Notice

I'm sorry, but this is not an update. I just want to tell you - more ask you, actually - that I had just open a poll. I have too many ideas, and too many stories that I need to finish, until I don't know which one to finish first. Please help me out by choosing which one you want me to finish first.

Thank you,

Froim.


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